Minimum age for marriage set to be raised in February

The government has confirmed the implementation date for the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022.

The Act, which received Royal Assent in April of this year, is planned to come into effect from Monday 27^th February 2023.

It will raise the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales “to protect children from the scourge of forced marriage”.

This means 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 – from 26th February 2023.

Currently, forced marriage is only an offence if the person uses a type of coercion, for example threats, to cause someone to marry, or if the person lacks capacity to consent to marry under the Mental Capacity Act.

The Act will therefore also expand the criminal offence of forced marriage in England and Wales to make it an offence in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. It will therefore now be an offence to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter a marriage in any circumstances, without the 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.

The Ministry of Justice said that this early announcement will “help provide sufficient time for arrangements to be made where necessary”.

Commenting on the Act at the time of its passage through Parliament, Sharon Priday, Managing Associate and family solicitor at Ince, said:

“The change in the law is a welcome step in protecting our vulnerable children in society who will have previously been forced into a ‘child marriage’. Any parties involved in the arrangement of such marriages will now face criminal charges and a lengthy prison sentence – clear deterrents for anyone involved in the crime.

There will of course be a detrimental impact on other young individuals who freely want to formalise their relationships. 16 to 18-year-olds may wish to marry for various reasons, including: one party joining the army; a child being born or family reasons. The disappointment to some is outweighed by the need to protect other young individuals from the significant harm caused by forced marriage.”