Marriage Act (Chapter 280)

• Coming into Force: 21 January 1965
• Published date: 21 January 1965
• Revision Date: 01 October 2021
• Year: 1964
• Type of Document: Historic Legislation

Contenidos

• Marriage Act (Chapter 280)
• PART I.—PRELIMINARY.
• 1. Interpretation.
• 2. Application.
• PART II.—CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES.
• 3. Customary marriages.
• 4. Religious rites.
• 5. Protection of women.
• PART III.—MARRIAGEABLE AGE AND MARRIAGES OF MINORS.
• 6. Application of Part III.
• 7. Marriageable age.
• 8. Consent to marriage of minor.
• 9. Persons whose consent is required.
• 10. Dispensing with consent.
• 11. Consent by Magistrate.
• 12. Re-hearing of applications.
• 13. Procedure at inquiries.
• 14. Restrictions on certain applications.
• 15. Effect of consent of Judge or Magistrate.
• 16. Period of effect of consent or dispensation.
• PART IV.—VOID AND VOIDABLE MARRIAGES.
• 17. Void marriages.
• 18. Prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity.
• 19. Prohibited degrees in respect of relationships by adoption.
• 20. Marriage within prohibited degrees of affinity.
• 21. Marriage within prohibited degrees by reason of section 19.
• 22. Voidable marriages.
• 23. Validity, etc., of certain marriages.
• 24. Application of prohibited degrees.
• PART V.—SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES.
• 25. Interpretation of Division 1.
• 26. Declaration of recognized denominations.
• 27. Qualifications for registration.
• 28. Registration.
• 29. Effect of registration.
• 30. Cancellation of registration.
• 31. Review of refusal or cancellation of registration.
• 32. Change of particulars for registration.
• 33. Returns by recognized denominations.
• 34. Authorization of other celebrants.
• 35. Application of Division 2.
• 36. Solemnization of marriages.
• 37. Notices, declarations, etc., as to intended marriages.
• 38. Time and place of solemnization.
• 39. Witnesses.
• 40. Form of ceremony.
• 41. Explanation of marriage relationship.
• 42. Position of clergy as to solemnization of marriage.
• 43. Invalidity of certain marriages.
• 44. Retention of consents, etc.
• 45. Marriage certificates.
• 46. Interpretation of Division 3.
• 47. Application of Division 3.
• 48. Proclaimed overseas countries.
• 49. Solemnization of marriages by consular officers, etc.
• 50. Recognition of marriages.
• PART VI.—LEGITIMATION.
• 51. Effect of Part VI.
• 52. Legitimation by marriage of parents.
• 53. Foreign legitimations.
• 54. Legitimacy of children of certain void marriages.
• 55. Declaration of legitimacy, etc.
• PART VII.—OFFENCES.
• 56. Application of Part VII.
• 57. Bigamy.
• 58. Marrying person not of marriageable age, etc.
• 59. False declarations, etc.
• 60. Personation of person whose consent is required.
• 61. Forged consent, etc.
• 62. Solemnizing marriage in contravention of Section 37 or 39.
• 63. Solemnizing marriage where legal impediment.
• 64. Unauthorized solemnizing of marriage.
• 65. False statements in applications for registration, etc.
• 66. Going through ceremony of marriage before unauthorized person.
• 67. Giving of defective notices, etc.
• 68. Failure to forward marriage certificate.
• 69. Failure by interpreter to furnish certificate, etc.
• PART VIII.—MISCELLANEOUS.
• 70. Interpreters at marriage ceremonies.
• 71. Second marriage ceremonies.
• 72. Position of clergy as to re-marriages.
• 73. Judicial notice.
• 74. Evidence of registration under Section 28.
• 75. Right of clergy to receive fees.
• 76. Regulations.
• SCHEDULES.

Marriage Act (Chapter 280)

INDEPENDENT STATE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

CHAPTER No. 280.

Marriage Act.

Being an Act relating to marriage.

PART I.—PRELIMINARY.

1 Interpretation.

(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

"Ambassador" includes Minister, Head of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires;

"authorized celebrant" means—

(a) a minister of religion registered under Section 28(1); or

(b) the Registrar-General; or

(c) a person authorized by the Minister under Section 34(2) to solemnize marriages;

"the commencement date" means 21 January 1965 (being the date of commencement of the pre-Independence Marriage Act 1963);

"consul" includes a consul-general, vice-consul, pro-consul and consular agent;

"consular office" means an office of consul or trade commissioner;

"consular officer" means—

(a) a person appointed to hold, or act in, a consular office of the Government in a place outside the country; or

(b) a person appointed to hold, or act in, a consular office of the Government of Australia in a place outside Papua New Guinea and Australia;

"diplomatic office" means an office of—

(a) Ambassador; or

(b) High Commissioner; or

(c) Commissioner; or

(d) counsellor, secretary or attaché at an embassy, High Commissioner's office, legation or other post;

"diplomatic officer" means—

(a) a person appointed to hold, or act in, a diplomatic office of the Government in a place outside the country; or

(b) a person appointed to hold, or act in, a diplomatic office of the Government of Australia in a place outside Papua New Guinea and Australia;

"guardian" includes a guardian by custom, and where under relevant custom, there is more than one guardian, means the principal guardian;

"Magistrate" means a Magistrate of a District Court;

"minister of religion" means—

(a) a person recognized by a religious body or a religious organization as having authority to solemnize marriages in accordance with the rites or customs of the body or organization; and

(b) in relation to a religious body or a religious organization in respect of which Paragraph (a) is not applicable, a person nominated by—

(i) the head or the governing authority in the country of the body or organization; or

(ii) such other person or authority acting on behalf of the body or organization as is prescribed,

to be an authorized celebrant for the purposes of this Act;

"minor" means a person who has not attained the age of 21 years;

"overseas country" means a country or place other than Papua New Guinea or a part of the Queen's dominions;

"prescribed authority", in relation to a marriage proposed to be solemnized in the country, means a person appointed by the Head of State, acting on advice, to be a prescribed authority;

"the Queen's dominions" includes a British protectorate and a British protected State;

"recognized denomination" means a religious body or a religious organization declared under Section 26 to be a recognized denomination for the purposes of this Act;

"the Registrar-General" includes a Deputy Registrar-General;

"the regulations" means any regulations made under this Act;

"this Act" includes the regulations.

(2) Where—

(a) a marriage is solemnized in the presence of a person in whose presence a marriage may, in accordance with this Act, be lawfully solemnized; and

(b) he consents to the marriage being solemnized in his presence,

he shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to solemnize the marriage.

2 Application.

This Act does not affect the validity or invalidity of a marriage that took place before the commencement date.

PART II.—CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES.

As to the term "native" throughout this Part, see the pre-Independence Ordinances Interpretation Act 1949, Section 6(1) and the Interpretation Act, Section 98.

3 Customary marriages.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or of any other law, a native, other than a native who is a party to a subsisting marriage under Part V. may enter, and shall be deemed always to have been capable of entering, into a customary marriage in accordance with the custom prevailing in the tribe or group to which the parties to the marriage or either of them belong or belongs.

(2) Subject to this Act, a customary marriage is valid and effectual for all purposes.

4 Religious rites.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or of any other law, religious rites or ceremonies may be performed in connexion with a customary marriage.

5 Protection of women.

(1) A Magistrate of a Local Court may, by order, forbid the marriage of a woman in accordance with custom, or purportedly in accordance with custom, where the woman objects to the marriage or purported marriage and—

(a) excessive pressure has been brought to bear to persuade her to enter into the marriage; or

(b) in the circumstances it would be a hardship to compel her to conform to custom.

(2) A person who marries, or purports to marry, a woman in contravention of an order under Subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.

Penalty: A fine not exceeding K400.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

(3) Where a marriage or purported marriage by custom has been entered into in contravention of this section, a Local Court may, on application made by or on behalf of the woman at the first reasonably practicable opportunity after the marriage or purported marriage, order that the marriage or purported marriage be annulled as from the date of the order, and may make such further or other order in the premises, whether to adjust property rights as though the marriage were dissolved in accordance with custom, or otherwise, as to it seems just.

PART III.—MARRIAGEABLE AGE AND MARRIAGES OF MINORS.

6 Application of Part III.

(1) This Part applies, notwithstanding any common law rule of private international law, in relation to marriages under Division V.2.

(2) Section 7 and, so far as they have application in relation to that section, Sections 13 and 14 apply in relation to—

(a) marriages to which Division V.3 applies; and

(b) the marriage of a person domiciled in the country, wherever it takes place.

(3) This Part does not apply to customary marriages.

7 Marriageable age.

(1) Subject to this section—

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