Chapter I
Forms of Marriage
52. Only civil marriage registered with the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall create the rights and duties of husband and wife as provided in the present title. A marriage contracted by a religious present title. A marriage contracted by a ceremony performed by a clergyman shall create no rights or duties for the parties to such marriage unless the same shall be registered according to law.
Note. Church and religious marriages contracted up to December 20, 1917, in conformity with the rules and forms prescribed in Sections 3, 5, 12, 20 and 31 and 90 of the Civil Laws in effect heretofore (the former Compiled Statutes, Vol. X, Part I, edition 1914), shall be deemed of equal validity with marriages effected by registration.
53. Marriages shall be registered at the local Bureau of Vital Statistics, or where there are no such bureaus, in the notarial divisions of local Soviets.
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