The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 has received Royal Assent and is anticipated to come into effect on in February 2023.
At the moment, with permission from their parents or a guardian, 16 and 17 year olds can get married. However, from 26 February 2023, the Act will raise the legal age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales to 18. This will mean that 16 and 17 year olds will no longer be able to marry or enter a civil partnership under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent.
According to the Ministry of Justice, this landmark change in the law will be introduced in order to protect vulnerable children and prevent child abuse. There have been concerns that the existing law leaves too much opportunity for young people to be forced into marriage before they are ready to or be manipulated or coerced by an older partner to enter into marriage. It has been reported that, in the UK, the Home Office’s Forced Marriage Unit supported over 1,400 suspected cases of forced child marriage in 2016.
At present, forced marriage is only an offence if the person uses a type of coercion such as threats in order to cause someone to marry. It is also an offence is the person lacks capacity to consent to marry under the Mental Capacity Act. However, under the new Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, the criminal offence of forced marriage in England and Wales will be broadened.
The Act will make it an offence in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. There will be no need to prove that a form of coercion was used. The forced marriage offence will continue to include ceremonies of marriage which are not legally binding, for example in community or traditional settings.
Under the new law, adults who facilitate the marriage of a child could face up to seven years in prison and a fine and this includes adults who take children abroad to carry out the marriage. It is hoped that the threat of prison will act as a deterrent to those trying to arrange the marriage of anyone under the age of 18. The new law will not affect the validity of any marriages or civil partnerships that happened before the legislation comes into force.
If you would like to read the full details and provisions of the Act, please click the link below.
Marriage And Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
