UK measures to stop "sham marriages" illegal -court

LONDON, Apr 10 (Reuters) The government unfairly discriminated against immigrants by bringing in a law requiring them to pay 135 pounds to get married, the High Court ruled today.

The law breached their human rights and went beyond its intended aim of stopping ''sham marriages'' -- marriages entered into solely to get round immigration rules, judge Justice Silber ruled.

The law, introduced in 2004, stated that would-be immigrants to Britain who sought to get married in an English ceremony had to apply for a certificate from the Home Secretary.

The certificate cost 135 pounds.

However, those getting married in Anglican churches were exempt because the government was satisfied that, in those cases, the Church of England would make sure that the reasons for the marriage were genuine.

Judge Silber ruled that this discriminated against people of other religions.

''It is not clear why those using an Anglican church ceremony would be less likely to engage in a sham marriage than those who use, say, Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu or Muslim religious ceremonies,'' he said.

''No proper consideration'' had been given to the issue.

The case was brought by several immigrant couples, including an Algerian Muslim man and a Polish Catholic woman who met in London in 2004.

She was working legally in Britain but he was an illegal immigrant. Because of that, they were banned from marrying.

However, had they been Anglicans, the government would have been unable to stop them, despite his illegal status.

Immigrant welfare groups and lawyers acting for the plaintiffs welcomed today's ruling.

Amit Sachdev, solicitor for two of the immigrants, said it highlighted ''the government's abject failure to respect the human rights of immigrants'' and described the 2004 law as ''a knee jerk reaction based on speculation rather than evidence''.

The government said it was disappointed with the outcome.

''We are considering its full implications and whether to pursue an appeal,'' the Home Office said.

''The government is determined to protect the UK's immigration system and marriage laws from abuse, in particular from those entering into sham marriages,'' it added, saying that since the law was introduced, marriage registrars had reported a tenfold drop in the number of suspicious marriage applications.

Reuters SHR GC1938