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1103

 

House of Commons

 
 

Notices of Amendments

 

given on

 

Tuesday 19 March 2013

 

For other Amendment(s) see the following page(s) of Supplement to Votes:

 

953-59

 

Consideration of Bill


 

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

 

Marriages according to usages of approved organisations

 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

NC12

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

In the Marriage Act 1949, after section 47, insert the following section—

 

“47A  

Marriages according to usages of approved organisations

 

(1)    

The Registrar General may by certificate approve organisations to

 

solemnize marriages according to their usages provided that any such

 

organisation—

 

(a)    

is a registered charity concerned with advancing or practising a

 

religion or belief, including a non-religious belief;

 

(b)    

does not possess or have the use of any registered place of

 

worship that has been registered for the solemnization of

 

marriage; and

 

(c)    

appears to the Registrar General to be of good repute.

 

(2)    

In the certificate referred to in subsection (1) the Registrar General shall

 

designate an officer of the organisation (“the principal officer”) to

 

appoint persons for stated periods of time to act as registering officers on

 

behalf of the organisation, and may impose such conditions as seem to

 

him or her to be desirable relative to the conduct of marriages by the

 

organisation and to the safe custody of marriage register books.

 

(3)    

The principal officer shall, within the prescribed time and in the

 

prescribed manner, certify the names and addresses of the persons so

 

appointed to the Registrar General and to the superintendent registrars of


 
 

Notices of Amendments: 19 March 2013                  

1104

 

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, continued

 
 

the registration districts in which such persons live, together with such

 

other details as the Registrar General shall require.

 

(4)    

A marriage shall not be solemnized according to the usages of an

 

approved organisation until duplicate marriage register books have been

 

supplied by the Registrar General under Part IV of this Act to the

 

registering officers appointed to act on behalf of the organisation.

 

(5)    

If the Registrar General is not satisfied with respect to any registering

 

officer of the approved organisation that sufficient security exists for the

 

safe custody of marriage register books, he or she may in his or her

 

discretion suspend the appointment of that registering officer.

 

(6)    

A marriage to which this section applies shall be solemnized with open

 

doors in the presence of either—

 

(a)    

a registrar of the registration district in which the marriage takes

 

place; or

 

(b)    

a registering officer appointed under subsection (2) whose name

 

and address have been certified in accordance with subsection

 

(3) and of two witnesses;

 

and the persons to be married shall make the declarations and use the

 

form of words set out in subsection (3) or (3A) of section 44.

 

(7)    

A marriage solemnized according to the usages of an approved

 

organisation shall not be valid unless there is produced to the

 

superintendent registrar, at the time when notice of marriage is given, a

 

certificate purporting to be signed by the principal officer or a registering

 

officer of the approved organisation to the effect that each person giving

 

notice of marriage is either a member of the said organisation or is

 

authorised to be married according to the said usages under or in

 

pursuance of a general rule of the said approved organisation.

 

(8)    

A certificate under subsection (7) shall be for all purposes conclusive

 

evidence that any person to whom it relates is authorised to be married

 

according to the usages of the said organisation and the entry of the

 

marriage in a marriage register book under Part IV of this Act, or a

 

certified copy thereof made under the said Part IV, shall be conclusive

 

evidence of the production of such a certificate.

 

(9)    

A copy of any general rule of the said organisation purporting to be

 

signed by the principal officer for the time being of the said organisation

 

shall be admitted as evidence of the general rule in all proceedings

 

touching the validity of any marriage solemnized according to the usages

 

of the said organisation.”.

 

(2)    

Schedule [Consequential amendments—Marriage according to usages of

 

approved organisations] has effect.’.

 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

7

 

Page  3,  line  28  [Clause  2],  after sub-paragraph (i) insert—

 

‘(iA)    

section 47A (marriages according to the usages of approved

 

organisations) when the organisation in question is a religious

 

organisation.’.


 
 

Notices of Amendments: 19 March 2013                  

1105

 

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, continued

 
 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

8

 

Page  6,  line  29  [Clause  5],  after ‘solemnized’, insert ‘and includes a religious

 

organisation approved under section 47A(1).’.

 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

9

 

Page  49,  line  16  [Schedule  7],  after ‘celebrated’, insert ‘and includes a religious

 

organisation approved under section 47A(1).’.

 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

NS1

 

To move the following Schedule:—

 

‘Consequential amendments—Marriage according to usages of approved

 

organisations

 

            

The following amendments are made to the Marriage Act 1949—

 

      (1)  

In section 26 (marriages which may be solemnized on authority of

 

superintendent registrar’s certificate) in subsection (1) after paragraph (c) there

 

is inserted—

 

“(ca)    

a marriage conducted under the auspices of an approved

 

organisation;”.

 

      (2)  

In section 35 (marriages in registration district in which neither party resides)

 

after “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved

 

organisation”.

 

      (3)  

In section 43 (appointment of authorised persons) in subsection (3) after “the

 

Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an organisation authorised by the

 

Registrar General under section 47A”.

 

      (4)  

In section 50 (person to whom certificate to be delivered), in subsection (1)

 

after paragraph (d) there is inserted—

 

“(da)    

if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the usages of an

 

approved organisation, a registering officer of that organisation”.

 

      (5)  

After section 52, the following section is inserted—

 

“52A  

Interpretation

 

In this Part of this Act “approved organisation” has the meaning given

 

to it in section 67.”.

 

      (6)  

In section 53 (persons by whom marriages are to be registered), after paragraph

 

(b) there is inserted—

 

“(ba)    

in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of an

 

approved organisation, a registered officer of that organisation;”.


 
 

Notices of Amendments: 19 March 2013                  

1106

 

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, continued

 
 

      (7)  

In section 54 (provision of marriage register books by Registrar General), in

 

subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends,” there is inserted

 

“registering officer of every approved organisation”.

 

      (8)  

In section 55 (manner of registration of marriages)—

 

(a)    

in subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is

 

inserted “or of an approved organisation”; and

 

(b)    

in subsection (1)(b) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is

 

inserted “or of an approved organisation” and after the words “the said

 

Society” there is inserted “or organisation”.

 

      (9)  

In section 57 (quarterly returns to be made to superintendent registrar), in

 

subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of

 

an approved organisation”.

 

    (10)  

In section 59 (custody of register books) after the words “the Society of

 

Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

 

    (11)  

In section 60 (filled register books) in subsection (1), paragraph (b), after the

 

words “registering officer of the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an

 

approved organisation”; after the words “members of the Society of Friends”

 

there is inserted “or of the said organisation”, and after the words “the said

 

Society” there is inserted “or organisation”.

 

    (12)  

In section 63 (searches in register books) after the words “the Society of

 

Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”.

 

    (13)  

In section 67 (interpretation of Part IV), there are inserted in the list of

 

definitions the following—

 

““approved organisation” means an organisation approved by the Registrar

 

General under section 47A of this Act;” and

 

““registering officer of an approved organisation” means a person whom the

 

principal officer of the said organisation certifies in writing under his or

 

her hand to the Registrar General to be a registering officer in England or

 

Wales of that organisation;”;

 

            

and in the definition of “superintendent registrar” after paragraph (b) there is

 

inserted—

 

“(ba)    

in the case of a marriage registered by a registering officer of an

 

approved organisation, the superintendent registrar of the registration

 

district which is assigned by the Registrar General to that registering

 

officer;”.

 

    (14)  

In section 75 (offences relating to solemnization of marriages) in subsection

 

(1), paragraph (a), after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or

 

of an approved organisation”; and in subsection (2), paragraph (a), after the

 

words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved

 

organisation.”.’.

 


 
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