Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698751696915.pdf (New Zealand)
Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill Member’s Bill Explanatory note General policy statement In New Zealand, the marriageable age is 18 years of age.

Marriage is illegal under the age of 16 years.

However 16 and 17 year olds who wish to marry can do so with pa- rental consent.

This occurs on average about 80 times each year, with 80% of those 16 and 17 year olds being female.
This Bill has arisen out of the concern that some 16 and 17 year olds may be undergo- ing forced marriage.

This Bill proposes that 16 and 17 year olds who wish to marry must apply to the court, and sets out how the court is to consider the application.

A forced marriage is a marriage where 1 or both people do not (or in the case of some people with learning or physical disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used.

A forced marriage may not be limited to 16 and 17 year olds.
An arranged marriage is not the same as a forced marriage.

In an arranged marriage, the families take a leading role in choosing the marriage partner, but the choice of whether to enter the marriage is left to both people who are parties to the intended marriage.
The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical (including threats, actual physical violence, and sexual violence) or emotional and psychological (for example, when someone is made to feel as if they are bringing shame on their family).

Financial abuse (taking a person’s wages or not giving the person any money) can also be a factor.

Clause 1 is the Title clause.


Clause by clause analysis 256—1 2 Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill Explanatory note Clause 2 is the commencement clause.

It provides for the Bill to come into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Clause 3 provides that the Bill amends the Marriage Act 1955 (the principal Act).
Part 1 Amendments to principal Act Clause 4 amends section 3, which relates to the application of the principal Act, so as to reflect that an effect of the Bill is that there will be a single provision relating to consent to the marriage of minors, rather than several provisions.

Clause 5 replaces sections 18 to 20 with a new section 18, which requires the consent of a Family Court Judge to a minor’s marriage and sets out matters related to the hear- ing of the application.
Clause 6 amends section 42, which relates to notices of intended marriage outside New Zealand, so as to reflect that an effect of the Bill is that there will be a single provision relating to consent to the marriage of minors, rather than several provisions.

Clause 7 amends section 64A, which relates to rules of procedure, by removing refer- ences to section 19, which is replaced by new section 18 by clause 5.
Part 2 Consequential amendment to Care of Children Act 2004 Clause 8 states that Part 2 amends the Care of Children Act 2004.

Clause 9 amends section 46, which relates to children obtaining a review by a Family Court Judge of a parent’s or guardian’s decision or refusal to give consent.

The amendment removes references to provisions of the principal Act that are replaced by new section 18 by clause 5.
Joanne Hayes Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill Member’s Bill Contents Title Commencement Principal Act Part 1 Amendments to principal Act Section 3 amended (Application of Act) Sections 18 to 20 replaced 18 Section 42 amended (Notice of intended marriage outside New Zealand) Section 64A amended (Rules of procedure) Consent of court required for marriage of minors Part 2 Consequential amendment to Care of Children Act 2004 Amendment to Care of Children Act 2004 Section 46 amended (Certain children may seek review of parent’s or guardian’s decision or refusal to give consent) Page 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 The Parliament of New Zealand enacts as follows: 1 Title This Act is the Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Act 2017.
256—1 1 cl 2 2 3 4 5 Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill Commencement This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Principal Act This Act amends the Marriage Act 1955 (the principal Act).

5 Part 1 Amendments to principal Act Section 3 amended (Application of Act) In section 3(2), replace “provisions relating to consents” with “provision relat- ing to consent”.
10 Sections 18 to 20 replaced Replace sections 18 to 20 with: 15 20 18 Consent of court required for marriage of minors (1) A party to an intended marriage who is a minor must, on his or her application, obtain consent to the marriage from a Family Court Judge.

(2) (3) If both parties to the intended marriage are minors, the application may be made by them jointly.
The application must be dealt with by way of a hearing in accordance with the following: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) the applicant is given an opportunity to be heard: so far as is reasonably practicable, the parents of the applicant are given an opportunity to be heard: the applicant and any other witnesses may be represented by a lawyer: no members of the public or media representatives are permitted to be present: 25 the court may hear any evidence that it thinks fit, whether or not the evi- dence would be otherwise admissible in a court of law.
(4) The Registrar must not issue a licence authorising a marriage or solemnise a marriage if a party to an intended marriage is a minor, unless consent is ob- tained in accordance with this section.

30 6 Section 42 amended (Notice of intended marriage outside New Zealand) In section 42(3), replace “consents” with “consent”.

Section 64A amended (Rules of procedure) In section 64A(1), replace “sections 19 and” with “section”.
7 (1) 2 Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill Part 2 cl 9 (2) In section 64A(2), repeal paragraph (a).

8 9 (3) Part 2 Consequential amendment to Care of Children Act 2004 Amendment to Care of Children Act 2004 This Part amends the Care of Children Act 2004.
Section 46 amended (Certain children may seek review of parent’s or guardian’s decision or refusal to give consent) In section 46, replace subsection (3) with: This section does not apply where a parent or guardian refuses to give consent to a child’s civil union or entry into a de facto relationship.

In those cases, sec- tions 19 and 20 of the Civil Union Act 2004 and section 46A of this Act, re- spectively, apply instead.
5 10 Wellington, New Zealand: Published under the authority of the House of Representatives—2017 3