You ask whether “common-law” marriages are valid under the laws of Honduras. The claimant
and the wage earner in this case, who are residents of Honduras, began living together
in 1976.
At our request, the Hispanic Law Division, Library of Congress, researched the laws
of Honduras with respect to common-law marriage and reported as follows:
“In regard to marriage, the Charter of June 3, 1965 [La Gaceta, June 12, 1965], in
force as of June 6 of the same year, provided the following:
'Art. ll0. The only valid marriage is one performed before the competent officials
and duly recorded in the Office of the Civil Registry. The law shall regulate its
formalities.
'Art. lll. A de facto union between per- sons legally able to marry is acknowledged.
The law shall regulate the conditions under which it shall produce the effects of
civil marriage.'
“The current Charter of January ll, 1982,'in force as of January 20, 1982, contains
the same basic principles:
'Art. ll2. The right of a man and a woman to marry and the legal equality of the spouses
is hereby acknowledged. A valid marriage is one performed before the competent officials
according to the conditions established by law. The de facto union between persons
legally able to marry is acknowledged. The law shall regulate the conditions under
which it shall produce the effects of civil marriage' [Decree No. 131 of January ll,
1982, of the National Constitutional Assembly (Unofficial version published in Tiempo,
January 27, 1982, sec. B)].
“A search of the Index to Latin American Legislation as well as other legal sources
did not produce any statutes regulating common-law marriage (as provided by the Constitution)
or court decisions construing these provisions. Therefore, common-law marriage appears
to be a constitutional proposition indicating the intent of the legislature to give
de facto unions legal effects - an intent which has not been carried out by the enactment
of subsequent legislation.” *_/
Thus, it appears that under current Honduran law, the only valid marriage which produces
full civil effects is one that is performed before a competent official and recorded
in the Civil Registry. Although a de facto union is “acknowledged” in the Constitution
of Honduras, the “conditions under which it shall produce the effects of civil marriage”
do not appear to have been provided by legislation or construed by any court decisions.
Therefore, a common-law marital relationship apparently does not create a valid marriage
under the laws of Honduras.
*_/
The Honduran social security laws and Labor Code give limited recognition to de facto
unions for certain benefit purposes. The Honduran Regulation on Compulsory Social
Security, La Gaceta, February 16, 1972, gives the concubine of a worker the same rights
as a wife under the program if she has been registered as a dependent by the worker,
id. art. 151, and provides that the widow or concubine will receive a life pension
after the worker's death. Id. art. 104. Also, the Labor Code pro- vides that in case
of the worker's death, the spouse or concubine is entitled to compensation. Codigo
del Trabajo, art. 421 (Ed. oficial, Tegucigalpa, Tipografia Nacional, 1959). A follow-up
discussion with the legal specialist from the Hispanic Law Division indicated that
Honduran law does not, however, grant the concubine (or the putative spouse of a de
facto union) inheritance rights in the intestate personal property of the other party
to the relationship.