Marriage Act
Encyclopedia
Australia
- The Marriage Act 1961, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's law that governs legal marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
.
Canada
- The Civil Marriage ActCivil Marriage ActThe Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
passed in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
explicitly permitting same-sex marriages.
New Zealand
- The Marriage Act 1854, first law in the colony governing marriage
- The Marriage Act 1955
South Africa
- The Marriage Act, 1961Marriage Act, 1961 (South Africa)The Marriage Act, 1961 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa governing the solemnisation and registration of marriages in South Africa...
, and its amending acts:- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1964
- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1968
- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1970
- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1972
- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1973
- The Marriage Amendment Act, 1981
- The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998, which recognised marriages under African customary law
- The Civil Union Act, 2006Civil Union Act, 2006The Civil Union Act, 2006 is a South African Act of Parliament which legalised same-sex marriage. It was enacted as Parliament's response to the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie, which ruled that it was unconstitutional for the state to provide...
, which extended marriage to same-sex couples
United Kingdom
- The Royal Marriages Act 1772Royal Marriages Act 1772The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribes the conditions under which members of the British Royal Family may contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the Royal House...
(E & W & S) - The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, allowing a man, if his wife had died, to marry her sister.Previously, it was forbidden for a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife...
(7 Edw.7 c.47) (UK)
Extent unknown by author:
- The Marriage Act 1811 or the Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811 (51 Geo.3 c.37) (the second short title was conferred by the Short Titles Act 1896, s.1 & first Sch.)
- The Marriage Act 1823 (4 Geo.4 c.76) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage Act 1824 (5 Geo.4 c.32) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will.4 c.54) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage Act 1836Marriage Act 1836The Act for Marriages in England 1836 6&7WmIV, c85 was an act that legalised the concept of civil marriage into England and Wales from 1 January 1837....
(6 & 7 Will.4 c.85) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1) - The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1837 (7 Will.4 & 1 Vict. c.22) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c.72) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage (Society of Friends) Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c.18) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage Confirmation Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c.24) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Infant Marriage Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c.83) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage (Society of Friends) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c.10) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Greek Marriages Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c.20)
- The Marriages Validity Act 1886 (49 & 50 Vict. c.3)
- The Marriages Act 1886 (49 & 50 Vict. c.14)
The Marriage Acts 1811 to 1886 means (or meant) the Marriage Act 1811, the Marriage Act 1823, the Marriage Act 1824, the Marriage Confirmation Act 1830, the Marriage Act 1835, the Marriage Act 1836, the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1837, the Marriage Act 1840, the Marriage and Registration Act 1856, the Marriage (Society of Friends) Act 1860, the Marriage Confirmation Act 1860, the Marriage (Society of Friends) Act 1872, the Greek Marriages Act 1884, the Marriages Validity Act 1886 and the Marriages Act 1886.
England and Wales
- The Marriage Act 1540 (32 Hen.8 c.38) (Short title conferred by the Statute Law Revision Act 1948) (Repealed by the Marriage Act 1949, s.79 & fifth Sch., Pt.I)
- The Clergy Marriage Act 1548 (2 & 3 Edw.6 c.21) (Short title: 1948 Act) (2 & 3 Edw.6 c.23) (Repealed by the Marriage Act 1949, s.79 & fifth Sch., Pt.I)
- The Clergy Marriage Act 1551 (5 & 6 Edw.6 c.12) (Short title: 1948 Act)
- The Marriage Act 1697, a penal lawPenal lawIn the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs...
passed in 1697 discouraging interfaith marriages. All interfaith marriages would be considered legally Catholic. The married couple would have to live under the tough Catholic laws. - The Marriage Act 1753Marriage Act 1753The Marriage Act 1753, full title "An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage", popularly known as Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act , was the first statutory legislation in England and Wales to require a formal ceremony of marriage. It came into force on 25 March 1754...
, which abolished common-law marriageCommon-law marriageCommon-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...
in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... - The Marriage Confirmation Act 1830 (11 Geo.4 & 1 Will.4 c.18) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Marriage and Registration Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c.119) (short title: 1896 Act, s.1)
- The Foreign Marriage Act 1892
- The Marriage with Foreigners Act 1906
- The Marriage of British Subjects (Facilities) Act 1915
- The Marriage of British Subjects (Facilities) Amendment Act 1916
- The Marriage Act 1939
- The Foreign Marriage Act 1947
- The Marriage Act 1949Marriage Act 1949The Marriage Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating marriages in England and Wales. The act abolished marriages for those under 16 years of age in England and Wales....
, which abolished marriages for those under 16 years of age in England and Wales. - The Marriage Act 1949 (Amendment) Act 1954
- The Marriage Acts Amendment Act 1958
- The Marriage (Secretaries of Synagogues) Act 1959
- The Marriage (Enabling) Act 1960
- The Marriage (Wales and Monmouthshire) Act 1962
- The Marriage (Registrar General's Licence) Act 1970
- The Marriage Act 1983
- The Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986
- The Marriage (Wales) Act 1986
- The Foreign Marriage (Amendment) Act 1988
- The Marriage (Registration of Buildings) Act 1990
- The Marriage Act 1994Marriage Act 1994The Marriage Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Introduced as a private member's bill by Gyles Brandreth, it amended the Marriage Act 1949 to allow marriages to be solemnized in certain "approved premises". Prior to the act, marriage ceremonies could only be conducted in...
- The Marriage Ceremony (Prescribed Words) Act 1996
- The City of London (Approved Premises for Marriage) Act 1996
- The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007The Forced Marriage Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It seeks to assist victims of forced marriage, or those threatened with forced marriage, by providing civil remedies...
- The Marriage (Wales) Act 2010Marriage (Wales) Act 2010The Marriage Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Introduced as a private member’s Bill by Alun Michael MP, it received royal assent on 18 March 2010. It provides the Welsh counterpart to the Church of England Marriage Measure 2008 No...
Scotland
- The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1956
- The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977
- The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002
Northern Ireland
- The Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act (Northern Ireland) 1924
- The Marriage (Declaration of Law) Act (Northern Ireland) 1944
- The Age of Marriage Act (Northern Ireland) 1951
United States
- The Affirmation of Marriage Act passed in VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- The Defense of Marriage ActDefense of Marriage ActThe Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
passed in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to limit FederalFederal government of the United StatesThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
marriage recognition to male-female couplings and thus proscribe the possibility of Federal same-sex marriage in the United StatesSame-sex marriage in the United StatesThe federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...