Changes to Marriage Legislation
The updated Marriage and Civil Partnership Act 2022 which will extend the ambit of the
criminal law relating to forced marriage by creating a new offence which makes it illegal to carry
out any conduct whose purpose is to cause a child (aged under 18) to enter into a marriage
before their eighteenth birthday, whether or not that conduct involves violence, threats or any
other form of coercion or deception. In essence, it will now always be illegal to cause a child to
marry, whatever the method used, and whether or not the child lacks capacity to consent to
marriage. Marriage’ includes religious, civil and cultural ceremonies. This will also cover
marriages here or abroad so if a child is a UK national and ‘habitually’ resident (in England and
Wales) along with those non UK nationals ‘habitually resident’ (in England and Wales) and are
taken abroad the offence will still stand
The full summary can be found here Marriage and Civil Partnership Act 2022 – Policy Summary