Section 19 of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) maps Schedule 2 onto adoptive families.
Section 19(1) — who is an “adopted child”
(a) a person adopted under a law (i) at any time in force in the area of Papua New Guinea; or (ii) of a State or Territory of Australia; or
(b) a person adopted under the law of any other place, if the adoption would be recognized as valid under the law of Papua New Guinea.
Paragraph (a)(i) reaches adoptions under earlier legislation as well as the current Adoption of Children Act (Chapter 275). Paragraph (b) depends on recognition of foreign adoptions under Part IV of that Act.
Sections 19(2) and (3) — how the prohibition extends
(2) Sections 17 and 18 and Schedule 2 have effect as if a relationship of consanguinity specified in that Schedule included a relationship traced through, or to, a person who is or was an adopted child.
(3) The relationship between an adopted child and his adoptive parent, or each of his adoptive parents, shall be deemed to be or to have been the natural relationship of child and parent.
| Relationship | Position |
|---|---|
| Adoptive parent and adopted child | Prohibited — deemed natural parent and child; and section 21 cannot permit it |
| Adopted child and the adopters’ natural child | Prohibited as brother and sister; section 21 cannot permit it |
| Two children adopted by the same adopters | Prohibited as brother and sister; section 21 cannot permit it |
| Adopted child and the adoptive parent’s sibling | Prohibited — father’s sister / mother’s brother; section 21 may permit |
| Adopted child and the adoptive parent’s parent | Prohibited as ancestor / descendant; section 21 may permit |
| Adopted child and a natural sibling not adopted with them | Prohibited — the natural blood relationship remains |
Subsections (2) and (3) do not make it lawful for a person to marry a person whom he could not lawfully have married if those subsections had not been enacted.
Adoption therefore adds prohibitions; it never removes them. A person adopted out of their birth family still may not marry their natural sister — the blood relationship is untouched.
This differs from the general effect of section 28 of the Adoption of Children Act, which severs the legal relationship with the natural family for most purposes. For the prohibited degrees, both relationships operate.
Section 19(5) — the prohibition does not lapse
(a) a person who has at any time been adopted shall be deemed to remain his adopted child notwithstanding that —
(i) the order by which the adoption was effected has been annulled, cancelled or discharged; or
(ii) the adoption has for any other reason ceased to be effective; and
(b) a person adopted on more than one occasion shall be deemed to be the adopted child of each person by whom he has been adopted.
The prohibited degrees exist to prevent marriage within a family unit in which people have been raised together. That social fact does not disappear because an adoption order is later discharged under section 13 of the Adoption of Children Act.
Paragraph (b) means the prohibitions accumulate across successive adoptions — a person adopted twice belongs, for this purpose, to both adoptive families.
Section 21 — when a Judge may permit
(1) Where two persons are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity by reason only of the operation of section 19, they may apply in writing to a Judge for permission to marry.
(2) If the Judge is satisfied that the circumstances of the particular case are so exceptional as to justify the granting of the permission, he may by order permit the applicants to marry.
(3) This section does not authorize the granting of permission where the relationship, by reason of section 19, is that of parent and child or brother and sister.
(4) Where persons marry under such a permission, the validity of their marriage is not affected by the fact that they are within the prohibited degrees by reason of section 19.
1. Only prohibitions created by section 19. The words are “by reason only of the operation of section 19”. A blood relationship existing independently cannot be permitted under this section.
2. Never parent/child or brother/sister. Subsection (3) is absolute. The closest adoptive relationships — the ones most likely to arise — are outside the power altogether.
3. “So exceptional”. The threshold is high, and the power discretionary even when met.
The parallel provision for affinity is section 20, which contains no equivalent of subsection (3).
A marriage within the prohibited degrees without such a permission is void under section 17(1)(b), and solemnising it knowing of the impediment is an offence under section 63.
Note that adoption also affects whose consent is required for the marriage of a minor: Part III of Schedule 1 substitutes the adoptive parents for the natural parents.
Sources
- Marriage Act (Chapter 280) — ss 17–21, 63, Schedules 1 and 2
- Adoption of Children Act (Chapter 275) — ss 13, 28, 36–39
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.