The question of whether a person the subject of an application for family reunification is the spouse of the applicant, as alleged, is a matter for the Minister for Justice to decide. A marriage contracted in a foreign country which complies with the requirements of the laws of that country, the lex loci celebrationis, is valid under Irish law, unless it conflicts with fundamental requirements relating to validity, such as incapacity to marry. A decision made by the Minister must be based on all the evidence submitted. A lack of formal proof of the marriage is a matter in respect of which the Minister is entitled to seek an explanation, and must take any explanation into account in deciding whether or not a marriage subsists. He must also take into account any evidence which suggests that the parties have cohabited as a married couple.