18. Void ab initio

Isidro and Irma, Filipinos, both 18 years of age, were passengers of Flight No. 317 of Oriental Airlines, The plane they boarded was of Philippine registry. While en route from Manila to Greece some passengers hijacked the plane, held the chief pilot hostage at the cockpit and ordered him to fly instead to Libya. During the hijacking Isidro suffered a heart attack and was on the verge of death. Since Irma was already eight months pregnant by Isidro, she pleaded to the hijackers to allow the assistant pilot lo solemnize her marriage with Isidro. Soon after the marriage, Isidro expired. As the plane landed in Libya Irma gave birth. However, the baby died a minutes after complete delivery.

Back in the Philippines Irma immediately filed a claim for inheritance. The parents of Isidro opposed her claim contending, that the marriage between her and Isidro was uoid ab initio on the following grounds: (a) they had not given their consent to the marriage of their son; (b) there was no marriage license; (c) the solemnizing ofiicer had no authority to perform the marriage; and, (d) the solemnizing officer did not file an affidavit of marriage with the proper civil registrar.

1. Resolve each of the contentions ([a] to [d]) raised by the parents of Isidro. Discuss fully.

2. Does Irma have any successional rights at all? Discuss fully.