The fact that two people, whose marriage broke down and were seeking annulment of their marriage in the Civil Court, were both members of the Jehovah Witnesses group and was held to have been a contributing factor to the breakdown of the marriage.

In a court judgement handed down last week, the Family Court, presided over by Mr Justice Noel Cuschieri, heard that both came from families that were members of Jehovah Witnesses. The rules of this Christian denomination say that members can only marry people of their own denomination. However, this meant, the court pointed out, that the girl when still 13 years old could only have a relationship with one of five boys.

In fact, when she was 16, she went for a drink with a boy who did not belong to her church and all sorts of problems cropped up. The two married when she was only 18 but the marriage went downhill within a year and a half. Eventually they broke up and the woman is now in a relationship with another man.

The court accepted the plea for the annulment of their marriage.