Foreign Marriage Act 1947
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1947 c. 33 |
| Year | 1947 |
Foreign Marriage Act, 1947
(10 & 11 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 33.
An Act to amend the Foreign Marriage Act, 1892 and for purposes connected therewith.
[18th July 1947]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Validation of past marriages solemnised by chaplains and other officers of H.M. Forces serving abroad.
(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, section twenty-two of the Foreign Marriage Act, 1892 (which validates marriages solemnised within the British lines by chaplains, officers and other persons officiating under the orders of the commanding officer of a British army serving abroad) shall, as respects marriages solemnised before the commencement of this Act, be deemed always to have had effect as if—
(a ) the reference to a British army serving abroad were construed as referring to any part of the naval, military or air forces of His Majesty so serving; and
(b ) the reference to the British lines were construed as referring to any place at which any part of the said forces serving abroad was stationed.
(2) Where either of the parties to a marriage which has been rendered valid by this section has subsequently, during the life of the other party, but before the twenty-fourth day of April nineteen hundred and forty-seven, entered into a marriage with any other person which, but for this section, would have been a valid marriage, the first marriage shall be deemed to have been dissolved immediately before the solemnisation of the second marriage.
2 Re-enactment of s. 22 of the Foreign Marriage Act, 1892.
2. For the said section twenty-two of the Foreign Marriage Act, 1892, the following section shall be substituted:—
22 ‘Validity of marriages solemnised by chaplains of H.M. forces serving abroad and other persons.
(1) A marriage solemnised in any foreign territory by a chaplain serving with any part of the naval, military or air forces of His Majesty serving in that territory or by a person authorised, either generally or in respect of the particular marriage, by the commanding officer of any part of those forces serving in that territory shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be as valid in law as if the marriage had been solemnised in the United Kingdom with a due observance of all forms required by law:
Provided that this subsection shall only apply if—
(a ) one at least of the parties to the marriage is a member of the said forces serving in that territory or a person employed in that territory in such other capacity as may be prescribed by Order in Council; and
(b ) such other conditions as may be so prescribed are complied with.
(2) In this section the expression 'foreign territory' means territory other than—
(a ) any part of His Majesty's dominions;
(b ) any British protectorate; or
(c ) any other country or territory under His Majesty's protection or suzerainty or in which His Majesty has for the time being jurisdiction:
Provided that His Majesty may by Order in Council direct that—
(i) any British protectorate or any such other country or territory as is referred to in paragraph (c ) hereof; or
(ii) any part of His Majesty's dominions which has been occupied by a State at war with His Majesty and in which the facilities for marriage in accordance with the local law have not in the opinion of His Majesty been adequately restored;
shall, while the Order remains in force, be treated as foreign territory for the purposes of this section.
(3) Any reference in this section to foreign territory, to forces serving in foreign territory and to persons employed in foreign territory shall include references to ships which are for the time being in the waters of any foreign territory, to forces serving in any such ship and to persons employed in any such ship, respectively.
(4) His Majesty...
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