A Dutch court has annulled the marriage of a couple after discovering that their wedding vows were generated using artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT, and failed to meet legal requirements.
The ruling was delivered by a court in Zwolle, which held that the ceremony did not include a compulsory declaration mandated under Dutch marriage law, rendering the marriage legally invalid.
Reports revealed that the couple had appointed a friend as their civil registrar for the day, known as an eendagsbab (registrar for a day).
The friend reportedly relied on ChatGPT to draft a wedding speech with a lighter, informal tone.
However, the AI-generated speech omitted a critical legal statement that binds a couple to do their duty to one another as required by their wedded state. Under Dutch law, this declaration must be clearly stated during the ceremony for the marriage to be valid.
The omission was later detected by the local council, which alerted the public prosecution service.
Prosecutors subsequently approached the court, seeking the annulment of the marriage, a request the judge granted.
The couple opposed the decision, arguing that an official civil registrar was present during the ceremony and raised no objections at the time.
They also asked the court to preserve their original wedding date of April 19, which they said held special meaning for them.
The judge, however, refused the request, noting that while the court understood the emotional importance of the date, it could not disregard the clear provisions of the law.
As a result of the ruling, the couple will now be required to repeat the wedding process if they wish to be legally married.
