Disabilities, or hindrances to the making of contracts, such ascoverture, infancy, want of reason, etc. In the civil law . Bars to marriage.Absolute impediments are those which prevent the person subject to them frommarrying at all, without either the nullity of marriage or its being punishable. Diri- mantimpediments are those which render a marriage void; as where one of the contractingparties is unable to marry by reason of a prior undissolved marriage. Prohibitiveimpediments are those which do not render the marriage null, but subject the parties toa punishment. Relative impediments are those which regard only certain persons withrespect to each other; as between two particular persons wTho are related within theprohibited degrees. Bowyer, Mod. Civil Law, 44, 45.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
