Foreign Marriage Act 1892

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Foreign Marriage Act 1892 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to consolidate Enactments relating to the Marriage of British Subjects outside the United Kingdom.
Citation 55 & 56 Vict. c. 23
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 27 June 1892
Commencement 1 January 1893 [b]
Repealed
Other legislation
Amends Naturalization Act 1870
Repeals/revokes
Amended by
Repealed by
Status: Repealed
Status
England and WalesRepealed
ScotlandRepealed
Republic of IrelandAmended
Northern IrelandRepealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Foreign Marriage Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, enacted to provide legal authority for marriages of British subjects performed outside the United Kingdom. It authorised British officials abroad to perform the marriage ceremony, and set out the necessary formalities to be followed, such as notice requirements and registration of the marriage with the British government. Marriages performed under the act would then be recognised under British law as if they had been performed in the United Kingdom. The act also provided that marriages performed abroad under local laws could be registered with the British government, provided a British consular official personally witnessed the marriage.

Contents

When originally enacted in 1892, the act applied to all of Great Britain and Ireland. It was repealed in 2013 for England, Wales, and Scotland, while repealed in 2019 for Northern Ireland, though the act is still in force in the Republic of Ireland.

Content

Until their repeal, sections of the act also defined the procedures used for consular marriages, which until recently – with the abolition of extraterritoriality for British subjects abroad or within the British Empire, the obsolescence of the class of the British Protected Person and the development of the concept of Lex loci celebrationis and the qualifications for its invocation (especially by the case of Radwan v Radwan (1972) (3 All ER 967), which effectively rendered foreign and Commonwealth consular marriages and British consular marriages alike invalid in England) in English law – allowed British subjects to get married abroad but under the matrimonial laws of England rather than foreign laws, through the British consul-general, consul, consulate or consular section.

The act also defined the procedures for marriage by members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom outside of the United Kingdom. [1]

Repealed enactments

Section 26(1) of the act repealed 6 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act.

CitationShort titleDescriptionExtent of repeal
4 Geo. 4. c. 91 Marriages Confirmation Act 1823 An Act to relieve His Majesty's subjects from all doubt concerning the validity of certain marriages solemnized abroad.The whole act, so far as unrepealed.
12 & 13 Vict. c. 68 Consular Marriage Act 1849 The Consular Marriage Act, 1849.The whole act.
31 & 32 Vict. c. 61 Consular Marriage Act 1868 The Consular Marriage Act, 1868.The whole act.
33 & 34 Vict. c. 14 Naturalization Act 1870 The Naturalization Act, 1870.In section eleven, the words, " and of the " marriages of per" sons married at " any of Her Majesty's embassies " or legations."
53 & 54 Vict. c. 47. Marriage Act 1890 The Marriage Act, 1890.The whole act.
54 & 55 Vict. c. 74 Foreign Marriage Act 1891 The Foreign Marriage Act, 1891.The whole act.

Amendments and repeal

The act was substantially amended by the Foreign Marriage (Amendment) Act 1988.

The act was repealed in England and Wales the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013, which came into force on 3 June 2014. [2] The act was also repealed in Scotland. [3] The repeal did not extend to Northern Ireland. The act was repealed in Northern Ireland by the Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019, which came into force on 13 January 2020. [4]

The act is still in force in the Republic of Ireland, as originally enacted and containing references to "British", "the United Kingdom", "England", "the Church of England" and "British subjects". [5] The act is considered obsolete.[ citation needed ]

Marriages overseas are now provided in schedule 6 of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 27.
  2. ↑ Section 25.

References

  1. ↑ John Murphy (17 March 2006). International Dimensions in Family Law. Manchester University Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN   978-0-7190-6842-3 . Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, c. 30, ss. 13, 20(1).
  3. ↑ Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, c. 30, ss. 13, 20(2).
  4. ↑ [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/1514/contents The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019], Statutory Instruments 2019 No. 1514, s. 11.
  5. ↑ Foreign Marriage Act, 1892, Electronic Irish Statute Book.
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