Session 2012 - 13
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1229

 

House of Commons

 
 

Notices of Amendments

 

given on

 

Thursday 25 April 2013

 

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

 

953-59, 1103-06, 1109-11 and 1177-78

 

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

 

Stephen Gilbert

 

NC15

 

To move the following Clause:—

 

‘(1)    

In the Marriage Act 1949, 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 principally concerned with advancing or

 

practising the non-religious belief known as humanism;

 

(b)    

has been in continuous existence for five years; 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: 25 April 2013                  

1230

 

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

 

Stephen Gilbert

 

19

 

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

 

‘(iA)    

section 47A (marriage according to the usages of approved

 

organisations).’.


 
 

Notices of Amendments: 25 April 2013                  

1231

 

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, continued

 
 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

Stephen Gilbert

 

20

 

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

 

approved under section 47A(1).’.

 

Kate Green

 

Stephen Williams

 

Kelvin Hopkins

 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Chris Bryant

 

Stephen Gilbert

 

21

 

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

 

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

 

 

NOTICES WITHDRAWN

 

The following Notices were withdrawn on 25 April:

 

NC12

 

Amendments 7, 8, 9.

 


 
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Revised 26 April 2013