A void marriage is invalid from its beginning, and is generally treated under the law as if it never existed and requires no formal action to terminate.
According to Paul J. Goda, the distinction between void and voidable marriages arose in the context of a jurisdictional dispute between the civil and ecclesiastical courts.
"[4] Colonial courts followed the Common Law view in looking to the capacity of the parties to enter into a legally binding contract.
Under the law of England and Wales, a void marriage is "one that is considered never to have taken place, whatever procedure may have been followed by the people concerned.
[11] In the Philippines under the Family Code, marriages terminated through a "declaration of nullity" are void ab initio or legally never existed.