Marriage Act Amendment Act 1948 (WA)

1948.] Marriage. [No. 23.

MARRIAGE.

12° GEO. VI., No. XXIII.

No. 23 of 1948.

AN ACT to amend the Marriage Act, 1894-1932.

[Assented to 18th November, 1948.]

BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty,by and with the advice and consent of the Legis- lative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Mi re o

1.    This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act Amend- ,

mem`, Act, 1948, and shall be read as one with the "'"cement

Marriage Act, 1894-1932 (Act 58 Victoria; No. 11, as amended by Acts 62 Vietorim No. 23; 1 and 2 Edward VII., No. 14; No. 7 of 1907; No. 48 of 1915, and No. 46 of 1932), hereinafter called the principal Act, and shall come into .operation and take effect on and from a date to be proclaimed.

2. The principal Act, as amended by this Act, may priipa/ Action of

be cited as the Marriage Act, 1894-1948. as amended.

3.    Section five of the principal Act is amended by sr"' °'

adding the word "or" after the word "celebrated" at the end of subsection (2) and by adding a new subsection as follows :—

(3) In respect to any particular marriage, any

person whose name, designation, religious denomina- tion and usual place of residence have been regis- tered according to law in the office of the Registrar General as authorised to celebrate that particular marriage.

No. 23.] Marriage. [1948.

Repeal of

s. 9 and sub-	4. Section nine of the principal Act is repealed and a
stitution of

new section.	new section is substituted therefor as follows:-
Consent In

case of	9. (1) If either party to any intended marriage, not having been previously married, is under the age of twenty-one years, such marriage shall not be celebrated unless and until there is produced to the person about to celebrate the same the consent according to one of the forms contained in the Third Schedule to this Act, of the person or persons men- tioned in the Eleventh Schedule to this Act: Pro- vided that if there is no such person within Western Australia or if any such person is incapable of duly consenting by reason of absence or inaccessibility, or habitual intoxication, mental incapacity or other substantial cause, then the consent according to one of the forms in the Third Schedule of some justice of the peace may be obtained and the consent so obtained shall have the same effect as if it had been given by a person whose consent is required where there is no such person within Western Australia, or as if it had been given by the person who is incapable of consenting, as the case may be.
minority.
(2) If any person whose consent is required refuses his consent, the Court may, on application being made, consent to the marriage, and the consent of the Court so given shall have the same effect as if it had been given by the person whose consent is
so refused:

Provided that the Court shall not entertain any

such application where the consent to the marriage has been refused by both parents when such parents are living together.

(3) Before giving such consent such justice of the peace or the Court (as the case may be) shall make inquiry on oath or affirmation as to the facts

and circumstances of the case and may, if it thinks

fit, make such inquiry in camera.

(4) For the purposes of this section "the Court" means the Supreme Court or a Judge thereof or a court of summary jurisdiction constituted by a Stipendiary Magistrate or a Police Magistrate sitting alone. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be exercised in Chambers.

1948.] Marriage. [No. 23.

5. Section eleven of the principal Act is repealed and s t stitution of

1:n°1 sub-

a new section is substituted therefor as follows:— new section.

11. A district registrar or officiating minister iCeetificatero

shall prepare in triplicate a certificate according to trip

the form in the Eleventh Schedule to the Registra-

tion of Births, Deaths and Marriages Act, 1894, of

every marriage celebrated or contracted before him and every such certificate shall be signed by the district registrar or minister celebrating the marriage and by the parties contracting such marriage and by the requisite number of witnesses; and such district registrar or officiating minister shall, immediately after the marriage, deliver one of such certificates to one of the parties to the marriage and shall keep the second of suck certifi- cates as a record of the marriage. In the case of a marriage celebrated by a district registrar the remaining or third certificate together with the second certificate hereinbefore referred to shall be registered by him immediately after the marriage, and in the case of a marriage celebrated by a min- ister the remaining third certificate shall be trans- mitted by him, within fourteen days to the district registrar of the district where the marriage was celebrated, who shall enter in the Marriage Register Book kept by him a copy of such marriage certificate and duly register, the copy so entered.

8. Section thirteen of the principal Act is amended by	e. 18.
Amendment of

deleting subsection (1).

New section

7. The principal Act is amended by adding after 378.

section thirty-seven A a section as follows :—

Power to

37B. The Governor may from time to time amend

the forms contained in the Schedules to this Act

numbered two to ten inclusive.

amend forms.

Amendment of

8. The Third Schedule to the principal Act is amended 3rd Schedule.

by inserting after the words "Signature of Father,

Mother, or Guardian" the following words and spaces

"Signature of Witness

I .7

Address of Witness

Repeal of the

9. The principal Act is amended by repealing the 7th Schedule.

Seventh Schedule.

No. 23.] Marriage. [1943.

New Eleventh

Schedule 10. The principal Act is amended by adding after the

added. Tenth Schedule a new Schedule as follows :—

Sect. 9.

ELEVENTH SCHEDULE.

CONSENTS REQUIRED TO THE MARRIAGE OF AN INFANT.

I.—Where the Infant is Legitimate.

Person or Persons whose Consent

Circumstances. is Required.

1.—Where both parents arc

living

(a) If both parents living Both parents.

together.

(b) If parents are divorced The parent to whom the custody

or separated by order of any	of the infant is committed by
Court or by agreement.	order of any Court or by the
agreement; or if the custody
of the infant is so committed
to one parent during part of the year and to the other parent during the rest of the year, both parents.

(c) If both parents de- The person to whose custody the

prived of custody of infant	infant is committed by order
by order of any Court.	of the Court.

2.—Where one parent is dead

(a) If there is no other The surviving parent.

guardian.

(b) If a guardian has been The surviving parent and the surviving parent or the guar- dian if the parent or guardian is the sole guardian of the infant.

appointed by the deceased	guardian acting jointly, or the
parent or by any Court.

3.--Where both parents are dead. The guardian or guardians appointed by the deceased parents or by any Court.

II.—Where the Infant is Illegitimate.

Circumstances. Person whose Consent is Required.

1.—If the Mother of the infant The Mother, or if she has by order of any Court been deprived of the custody of the infant,

is alive.

the person to whom the cus- tody of the infant has been

committed by order of the

Court.

2. If the Mother of the . infant The guardian appointed by the

Is dead. Mother or by any Court.