The General Prosecutor’s college sees no reason to annul the marriages from the television program “Married at first sight”, which is broadcast on RTL-TVi. The Sudpresse papers reported on the story on Friday. The Justice Minister Koen Geens asked the college to give their and other judicial organisations’ stance on the program. The future spouses featured on the program meet for the first time on their wedding day.
Several MPs questioned the Justice Minister on the legality of such marriages in September. The mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Olivier Maingai, refused to take part in the program following a statement by the Brussels Prosecutor’s office. It said there were suspicions of coercion and the validity of the marriages could be contested.
“The General Prosecutor’s college thinks there is no need to annul these marriages. However, we will need to check that the 1993 law on matrimonial brokerage has been respected, as a TV channel is taking the place of a matrimonial agency”, Koen Geens told Sudpresse. The ball has therefore been placed in the court of the Minister for the Protection of Consumer Rights, Kris Peters. It is now up to him to follow it up.
The regulation of matrimonial agencies, singles clubs etc imposes a written contract that includes a certain number of precisions and clauses. These include an obligatory reflection period of seven working days where no payment can be demanded, Sudpresse says.
(Source: Belga)
