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| Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill
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| New Clauses and New Schedules relating to humanist marriage, remaining |
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| amendments to clause 2, amendments to clause 5, amendments to |
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| schedule 7 relating to section 46 of the marriage act 1949 |
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| | Marriages according to usages of approved organisations |
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| To move the following Clause:— |
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| | ‘(1) | In the Marriage Act 1949, insert the following section— |
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| | “47A | Marriages according to usages of approved organisations |
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| | (1) | The Registrar General may by certificate approve organisations to |
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| | solemnize marriages according to their usages provided that any such |
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| | (a) | is a registered charity principally concerned with advancing or |
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| | practising the non-religious belief known as humanism; |
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| | (b) | has been in continuous existence for five years; and |
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| | (c) | appears to the Registrar General to be of good repute. |
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| | (2) | In the certificate referred to in subsection (1) the Registrar General shall |
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| | designate an officer of the organisation (“the principal officer”) to |
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| | appoint persons for stated periods of time to act as registering officers on |
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| | behalf of the organisation, and may impose such conditions as seem to |
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| | him or her to be desirable relative to the conduct of marriages by the |
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| | organisation and to the safe custody of marriage register books. |
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| | (3) | The principal officer shall, within the prescribed time and in the |
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| | prescribed manner, certify the names and addresses of the persons so |
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| | appointed to the Registrar General and to the superintendent registrars of |
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| | the registration districts in which such persons live, together with such |
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| | other details as the Registrar General shall require. |
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| | (4) | A marriage shall not be solemnized according to the usages of an |
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| | approved organisation until duplicate marriage register books have been |
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| | supplied by the Registrar General under Part IV of this Act to the |
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| | registering officers appointed to act on behalf of the organisation. |
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| | (5) | If the Registrar General is not satisfied with respect to any registering |
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| | officer of the approved organisation that sufficient security exists for the |
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| | safe custody of marriage register books, he or she may in his or her |
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| | discretion suspend the appointment of that registering officer. |
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| | (6) | A marriage to which this section applies shall be solemnized with open |
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| | doors in the presence of either— |
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| | (a) | a registrar of the registration district in which the marriage takes |
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| | (b) | a registering officer appointed under subsection (2) whose name |
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| | and address have been certified in accordance with subsection |
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| | (3) and of two witnesses; and the persons to be married shall |
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| | make the declarations and use the form of words set out in |
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| | subsection (3) or (3A) of section 44. |
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| | (7) | A marriage solemnized according to the usages of an approved |
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| | organisation shall not be valid unless there is produced to the |
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| | superintendent registrar, at the time when notice of marriage is given, a |
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| | certificate purporting to be signed by the principal officer or a registering |
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| | officer of the approved organisation to the effect that each person giving |
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| | notice of marriage is either a member of the said organisation or is |
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| | authorised to be married according to the said usages under or in |
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| | pursuance of a general rule of the said approved organisation. |
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| | (8) | A certificate under subsection (7) shall be for all purposes conclusive |
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| | evidence that any person to whom it relates is authorised to be married |
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| | according to the usages of the said organisation and the entry of the |
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| | marriage in a marriage register book under Part IV of this Act, or a |
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| | certified copy thereof made under the said Part IV, shall be conclusive |
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| | evidence of the production of such a certificate. |
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| | (9) | A copy of any general rule of the said organisation purporting to be |
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| | signed by the principal officer for the time being of the said organisation |
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| | shall be admitted as evidence of the general rule in all proceedings |
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| | touching the validity of any marriage solemnized according to the usages |
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| | of the said organisation.”. |
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| | (2) | Schedule [Consequential amendments—Marriage according to usages of |
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| | approved organisations] has effect.’. |
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| To move the following Schedule:— |
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| | ‘Consequential amendments—Marriage according to usages of approved |
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| | | The following amendments are made to the Marriage Act 1949— |
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| | (1) | In section 26 (marriages which may be solemnized on authority of |
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| | superintendent registrar’s certificate) in subsection (1) after paragraph (c) there |
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| | “(ca) | a marriage conducted under the auspices of an approved |
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| | (2) | In section 35 (marriages in registration district in which neither party resides) |
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| | after “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved |
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| | (3) | In section 43 (appointment of authorised persons) in subsection (3) after “the |
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| | Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation authorised |
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| | by the Registrar General under section 47A”. |
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| | (4) | In section 50 (person to whom certificate to be delivered), in subsection (1) |
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| | after paragraph (d) there is inserted— |
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| | “(da) | if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the usages of an |
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| | approved organisation, a registering officer of that organisation”. |
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| | (5) | After section 52, the following section is inserted— |
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| | In this Part of this Act “approved organisation” has the meaning given |
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| | (6) | In section 53 (persons by whom marriages are to be registered), after paragraph |
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| | “(ba) | in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of an |
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| | approved organisation, a registered officer of that organisation;”. |
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| | (7) | In section 54 (provision of marriage register books by Registrar General), in |
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| | subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends,” there is inserted |
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| | “registering officer of an approved organisation”. |
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| | (8) | In section 55 (manner of registration of marriages)— |
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| | (a) | in subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is |
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| | inserted “or of an approved organisation”; and |
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| | (b) | in subsection (1)(b) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is |
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| | inserted “or of an approved organisation” and after the words “the said |
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| | Society” there is inserted “or organisation”. |
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| | (9) | In section 57 (quarterly returns to be made to superintendent registrar), in |
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| | subsection (1) after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of |
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| | an approved organisation”. |
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| | (10) | In section 59 (custody of register books) after the words “the Society of |
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| | Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”. |
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| | (11) | In section 60 (filled register books) in subsection (1), paragraph (b), after the |
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| | words “registering officer of the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an |
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| | approved organisation”; after the words “members of the Society of Friends” |
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| | there is inserted “or of the said organisation”, and after the words “the said |
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| | Society” there is inserted “or organisation”. |
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| | (12) | In section 63 (searches in register books) after the words “the Society of |
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| | Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved organisation”. |
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| | (13) | In section 67 (interpretation of Part IV), there are inserted in the list of |
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| | definitions the following— |
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| | ““approved organisation” means an organisation approved by the Registrar |
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| | General under section 47A of this Act;” and |
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| | ““registering officer of an approved organisation” means a person whom the |
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| | principal officer of the said organisation certifies in writing under his or |
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| | her hand to the Registrar General to be a registering officer in England or |
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| | Wales of that organisation;”; |
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| | | and in the definition of “superintendent registrar” after paragraph (b) there is |
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| | “(ba) | in the case of a marriage registered by a registering officer of an |
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| | approved organisation, the superintendent registrar of the registration |
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| | district which is assigned by the Registrar General to that registering |
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| | (14) | In section 75 (offences relating to solemnization of marriages) in subsection |
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| | (1), paragraph (a), after the words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or |
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| | of an approved organisation”; and in subsection (2), paragraph (a), after the |
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| | words “the Society of Friends” there is inserted “or of an approved |
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| Clause 2, page 3, line 28, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(iA) | section 47A (marriage according to the usages of approved |
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| Clause 5, page 6, line 29, after ‘solemnized’, insert ‘and includes an organisation |
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| approved under section 47A(1).’. |
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| Schedule 7, page 49, line 16, after ‘celebrated’, insert ‘and includes an organisation |
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| approved under section 47A(1).’. |
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| Remaining Proceedings on consideration |
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| To move the following Clause:— |
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| | ‘(1) | Two people, whether they are of different or the same sex, may enter into a civil |
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| | (a) | they are both aged 18 or over; |
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| | (b) | they are not within prohibited degrees of relationship; |
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| | (c) | they are not currently in a civil union with someone else. |
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| | (2) | A civil union must be solemnized by a Registrar. |
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| | (3) | No religious service is to be used while the civil union registrar is officiating at |
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| | the signing of a civil union document. |
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| | (4) | A civil union ends only on death, dissolution or annulment. |
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| | (5) | The Marriage Act 1949 is repealed.’. |
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| | Marriage solemnized other than at a religious ceremony to be termed Civil Marriage |
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| To move the following Clause:— |
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| | ‘(1) | Any marriage solemnized (whether before or after the passing of this Act) under |
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| | Part 3 of the Marriage Act 1949 (Marriage under Superintendent Registrar’s |
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| | Certificate), the Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970 or an Order in |
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| | Council made under Part 1 or 3 of Schedule 6 (other than a marriage according to |
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| | religious rites and usages) shall be termed a Civil Marriage. |
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| | (2) | The Secretary of State or Lord Chancellor may, by order, make such provision |
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| | (including provision amending UK legislation) as the Secretary of Sate or Lord |
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| | Chancellor considers appropriate in consequence of this section.’. |
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| Clause 9, page 9, line 5, at end insert ‘and such a marriage shall be a civil |
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| Clause 9, page 10, line 24, at end add— |
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| | ‘(9) | Where a civil partnership formed under part 1, section 96 of the Civil Partnership |
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| | Act (Civil Partnership with former spouse) is converted into a marriage under this |
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| | (a) | the civil partnership ends on the conversion, and |
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| | (b) | if both partners so elect, the resulting marriage is to be treated as having |
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| | subsisted since the marriage dissolved under Schedule 2 of the Gender |
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| | Recognition Act 2004 was formed.’. |
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| Clause 11, page 11, line 8, leave out from ‘other’ to end of line 10 and insert |
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| ‘ecclesiastical law (whether or not contained in England and Wales legislation, and, if |
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| contained in England and Wales legislation, whenever passed or made).’. |
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| Clause 15, page 12, line 15, at end insert— |
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| | ‘(ba) | an order under section (Marriage solemnized other than at a religious |
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| | ceremony to be termed Civil Marriage). |
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| Clause 15, page 12, line 36, leave out from ‘order’ to ‘would’ in line 38 and insert |
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| ‘or regulations under this Act, except an order under section 18(3), containing provision |
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| Clause 15, page 12, line 40, leave out ‘consult’ and insert ‘obtain the consent of’. |
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| Clause 15, page 12, line 41, leave out from ‘order’ to ‘would’ in line 42 and insert |
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| ‘or regulations under this Act, except an order under section 18(3), containing provision |
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| Clause 17, page 14, line 1, at end insert ‘, except for section (Review of civil |
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| Clause 17, page 14, line 5, at end insert ‘, except for section (Review of civil |
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| Schedule 2, page 21, line 26, leave out sub-paragraph (5). |
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| Schedule 3, page 23, line 30, leave out from beginning to ‘legislation’ in line 32 |
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| and insert ‘In existing England and Wales’. |
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| Schedule 3, page 23, line 34, after ‘couple’, insert ‘or a couple whereby at least one |
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| person identifies as non-gender or bi-gender’. |
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| Schedule 3, page 23, line 36, after ‘couple’, insert ‘or a couple whereby at least one |
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| person identifies as non-gender or bi-gender’. |
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