Part VI General

75 Offences relating to solemnization of marriages.

1

Any person who knowingly and wilfully—

F12a

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

b

solemnizes a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England without banns of matrimony having been duly published (not being a marriage solemnized on the authority of a special licence, a common licence or F20a marriage schedule);

c

solemnizes a marriage according to the said rites (not being a marriage by special licence F1or a marriage in pursuance of section 26(1)(dd) of this Act) in any place other than a church or other building in which banns may be published;

d

solemnizes a marriage according to the said rites falsely pretending to be in Holy Orders;

shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

2

Any person who knowingly and wilfully—

C1a

solemnizes a marriage (not being a marriage by special licence, a marriage according to the usages of the Society of Friends or a marriage between two persons professing the Jewish religion according to the usages of the Jews) in any place other than—

i

a church or other building in which marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, or

ii

the registered building F2office F3, approved premises or person’s residence specified as the place where the marriage was to be solemnized in the F4notices of marriage and F18(if so specified) in the marriage schedule required under Part III of this Act;

F5aa

solemnizes a marriage purporting to be in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act on premises that are not approved premises;

b

solemnizes a marriage in any such registered building as aforesaid (not being a marriage in the presence of an authorised person) in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the registered building is situated;

F6bb

solemnizes a marriage in pursuance of section 26(1)(dd) F14or 26B(6) of this Act, otherwise than according to the rites of the Church of England, in the absence of a registrar of the registration district in which the place where the marriage is solemnized is situated;

c

solemnizes a marriage in the office of a superintendent registrar in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the office is situated;

F7cc

solemnizes a marriage on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the premises are situated;

d

solemnizes a marriage on the authority of F21a marriage schedule when none of the conditions in section 31(3) is met; or

e

solemnizes a marriage on the authority of F19a marriage schedule after the expiration of F8the period which is, in relation to that marriage, the applicable period for the purposes of section 33 of this Act;

shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

F222A

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3

A superintendent registrar who knowingly and wilfully—

F16a

issues a marriage schedule when none of the conditions in section 31(3) is met;

b

issues F17a marriage schedule after the expiration of F9the period which is, in relation to that marriage, the applicable period for the purposes of section 33 of this Act; F23or

F24c

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d

solemnizes or permits to be solemnized in his office F10or, in the case of a marriage in pursuance of F11section 26(1)(bb) or (dd)F13or 26B(6) of this Act, in any other place any marriage which is void by virtue of any of the provisions of Part III of this Act;

shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

4

No prosecution under this section shall be commenced after the expiration of three years from the commission of the offence.

5

Any reference in subsection (2) of this section to a registered building shall be construed as including a reference to any chapel registered under section seventy F15or 70A of this Act.