Is a marriage which is illegal in the host country still Islamically valid?

News from my home town reports of an Islamic child marriage : > A 34-year-old Melbourne man has cried in court while pleading guilty to illegally marrying a 14-year-old bride in an Islamic wedding last year. The wedding was illegal and the marriage would not be recognized as valid in Australian law; see Getting married . However, this marriage likely meets the requirements of being a legitimate Islamic wedding (after all, it was performed by an imam, although he has since been "sacked"). Hence: **Question**: Is a wedding which is illegal in the host country still Islamically valid? If so, it would lead to a tangled web. However, a requirement for a Islamically valid marriage might be that it is legal under the host country's laws.