The problematic legal interpretation of the concepts of civil marriage and informal marriage

The study discusses the legal elements of marriage, describes the legal nature of civil marriage, and substantiates the main aspects of such a marriage by comparing two opposite legal status, i.e. civil marriage and informal marriage. The historical background to the misconception about this legal fact is presented. Having analyzed the works of many scientists, the authors reveal that many researchers misinterpret the concepts of civil marriage and informal marriage focusing on their identity that is wrong. In other words, the term ‘civil marriage’ should not be used in the context of informal marriage from the legal perspective. It is concluded that the concepts under review are not enshrined in the Russian legislation. The notion of registered marriage is legalized. There is a term ‘persons who are not married to each other’ in the current family law. Finally, the authors propose legalizing the concept of common-law marriage in the Russian law. Besides, its possible definition is presented.