Section 71 of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) starts with a prohibition and then creates carefully controlled exceptions.
Section 71(1) — the general rule
(a) persons who are already legally married to each other shall not go through a form or ceremony of marriage with each other; and
(b) a person authorised to solemnize marriages shall not purport to solemnize a marriage between persons —
(i) who inform him that they are already legally married to each other; or
(ii) whom he knows, or has reason to believe, to be already legally married to each other.
A second ceremony between the same parties creates a second set of records for one marriage. That produces confusion about the date of the marriage — which matters for the three-year rule, for property, and for succession — and can be used to manufacture a false impression that an earlier marriage did not exist.
Note that paragraph (b) binds the celebrant as well, on either actual knowledge or reason to believe.
The four exceptions
| Provision | Situation | Produces a certificate? |
|---|---|---|
| s 71(2)–(4) | Doubt about the validity, recognition or provability of the first marriage | Yes — with a prescribed endorsement |
| s 71(5)–(7) | A purely religious ceremony where the parties are already legally married | No — expressly prohibited |
| s 71(8) | Parties to a customary marriage going through a Part V ceremony with each other | Yes — an ordinary Part V marriage |
| s 4 | Religious rites in connexion with a customary marriage | No — not a Part V marriage at all |
Sections 71(2) to (4) — where there is a doubt
Where two persons have gone through a form or ceremony of marriage with each other and there is a doubt —
(i) whether they are legally married to each other; or
(ii) where the ceremony took place outside the country, whether the marriage would be recognized as valid by a court in the country; or
(iii) whether the marriage could be proved in legal proceedings,
they may go through a ceremony with each other in accordance with Division V.2 as if they had not previously done so.
A doubt about whether the marriage could be proved is enough. It is not necessary to doubt that the marriage happened.
That covers the common position of a couple married by custom many years ago, where the witnesses have died and no document exists — and a couple married overseas whose records are unobtainable. See proving a marriage.
(a) a statutory declaration by both parties — stating that they previously went through a form or ceremony of marriage with each other, and specifying the date, the place and the circumstances; and
(b) a certificate by a lawyer, endorsed on the statutory declaration, that on the facts stated there is, in his opinion, a doubt as to one of the matters in subsection (2)(b).
It prevents section 71(2) being used to manufacture a fresh marriage date at will. A lawyer must be satisfied, on the facts stated in the declaration, that a genuine doubt exists — and must endorse that opinion on the declaration itself.
Section 71(4) then requires the celebrant to make a prescribed endorsement on each certificate issued, so the record shows what has occurred.
Making a false statement in the statutory declaration would engage section 59 of the Marriage Act and the general law on false declarations.
Sections 71(5) to (7) — a religious ceremony only
(a) a certificate of their existing marriage; and
(b) a written statement signed by them and witnessed by the celebrant that they previously went through a ceremony with each other, that they are the parties named in the certificate, and that they have no reason to believe that they are not legally married — or, if the marriage took place outside Papua New Guinea, no reason to believe it would not be recognised as valid here.
Section 71(6): sections 37, 39 and 45 do not apply, and the person performing the ceremony shall not —
- prepare or issue a certificate of marriage under or referring to the Act; or
- issue any other document unless the parties are described in it as already legally married to each other.
Section 71(7) protects the celebrant: a person who is not an authorised celebrant does not commit an offence under section 64 merely by performing such a ceremony where the section 71(5) requirements were met.
So a blessing, a renewal of vows or a church wedding after a registry marriage is permitted — and changes nothing legally.
Section 72 separately provides that nothing in this Act or any other law binds a minister of religion to solemnize the marriage of a person whose former marriage has been dissolved otherwise than by death.
Sources
- Marriage Act (Chapter 280) — ss 3, 4, 37, 39, 45, 59, 64, 71, 72
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.