British court tosses sham marriage rules

LONDON, May 24 (UPI) -- Britain's Appeal Court declared that rules set in place to stop illegal immigrants from using loveless marriages to enter the country are unlawful.

The court ruled that regulations adopted in 2005 to prevent would-be immigrants from entering alleged ''marriages of convenience'' are in violation of human rights laws, The Telegraph reported Thursday.

The court said the rules, introduced by Home Secretary David Blunkett, caused a "disproportionate interference'' in the human right to marry.

The rules effectively required people from outside the European Union who wished to marry a British citizen to attain government approval before they could wed. They were required to attend register offices and pay fines exceeding $200 for a certificate approving the union, The Telegraph said.

"To be proportionate, a scheme must either properly investigate individual cases or at least show that it has come close to isolating cases that very likely fall into the target category," said Justice Richard Buxton in the court's ruling.

"It must also show that the marriages targeted do indeed make substantial inroads into the enforcement of immigration control," The Telegraph report said.