Part VII of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) contains fourteen offences. Bigamy is section 57; the rest follow.
The offences and penalties
| Section | Conduct | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 58(1) | Going through a ceremony with a person not of marriageable age | 5 years |
| 58(2) | Marrying a minor without the required consents, unless previously married | K400 or 6 months |
| 59(1) | Wilfully making a false statement in a declaration under the Act | K1,000 or 4 years |
| 59(2) | Making a knowingly false written statement as to the s 71(5)(b) matters for a religious ceremony | |
| 59(3) | Forging a document or signature to induce another to solemnize a marriage | |
| 60 | Falsely representing oneself as a person whose consent is required | K400 or 6 months |
| 61(1) | Presenting a forged consent or dispensation, or one whose signature was obtained by fraud, knowing it | |
| 61(2) | Witnessing a consent in contravention of s 8(3) | |
| 62 | Solemnizing in contravention of s 37 or s 39; of s 8 or s 70; of s 30(5); or of s 71(1)(b) | |
| 63 | Solemnizing where there is reason to believe there is a legal impediment | |
| 64 | Unauthorized solemnizing — solemnizing at a place without being authorised for that place | |
| 65 | False statements in an application for registration under Division V.1 or for authority under s 34(2) | |
| 66 | Going through a ceremony before a person known to be unauthorised, believing the other party thinks otherwise | |
| 67 | Giving or signing a defective notice under s 37, knowing it contains a false statement or error | |
| 69 | Interpreter failing to comply with s 70(3), or wilfully making a false certificate | |
| 68 | Celebrant failing to forward a certificate to the Registrar-General under s 45(4)(b) | K100 |
Section 58 — marrying a person under age
(1) A person who goes through a form or ceremony of marriage with a person who is not of marriageable age is guilty of an offence. Penalty: 5 years.
(2) A person must not go through a ceremony with a person who is a minor unless (a) that person has previously been married; or (b) the written consent of each person whose consent is required has been given or dispensed with. Penalty: K400 or 6 months.
To subsection (1): that the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that the other person was of marriageable age.
To subsection (2): that the defendant believed on reasonable grounds either that the other person had attained 21 or had previously been married, or that the required consents had been given or dispensed with.
In each case the burden is on the defendant — the word is “proves”.
This section does not apply to a customary marriage where the custom applying to the marriage recognizes it as being valid.
That mirrors section 57(8), and is consistent with section 6(3), under which Part III does not apply to customary marriages.
But it is not the end of the matter. Section 86 of the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 makes it an offence carrying five years to facilitate the marriage of a person under 18 “either by custom or by law” — and contains no customary exemption.
The celebrant offences
Section 62 makes it an offence to solemnize a marriage in contravention of:
- Section 37 or 39 — notice and declarations, or witnesses;
- Section 8 or 70 — consents for a minor, or interpreters;
- Section 30(5) — solemnizing while a show cause notice is outstanding;
- Section 71(1)(b) — purporting to marry people already legally married to each other.
Section 63 adds solemnizing where there is reason to believe there is a legal impediment — the provision that bites where the parties are within the prohibited degrees or one is already married.
Section 64 is the unauthorised solemnisation offence, subject to section 71(7), which protects a person performing a permitted religious ceremony between people already married.
Section 66 catches a party who knowingly marries before an unauthorised person while having reason to believe the other party thinks otherwise — a deception offence, not a formality one.
Note that most of these contraventions do not invalidate the marriage: section 43(2) preserves it despite failures under sections 37, 39, 41 and 8, and section 43(3) saves a marriage solemnized by an unauthorised person where either party believed he was authorised.
Sources
- Marriage Act (Chapter 280) — ss 8, 30, 34, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 56–71
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 — s 86
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.