Report No. 15

Clause 51

A person married under the Christian Marriage Act may marry again

(i) under the Christian Marriage Act; or

(ii) under any other system of law.

So far as the situation at No. (i) above is concerned, the second marriage will be void by reason of breach of the condition providing that there should be no "spouse living at the time of the marriage", and will be punishable as bigamy under the Penal Code.

So far, however, as the situation at (ii) above is concerned, it is not clear if the Christian Marriage Act will apply, and it is better to make a specific provision for such a situation.

Hence the necessity of the clause under discussion, which follows section 44 of the Special Marriage Act.

[So far as the situation at No. (i) above is concerned, the clause under discussion will be a repetition of the clause which provides that such marriages shall be void. Compare section 44 of the Special Marriage Act, which similarly repeats the provision in section 24(1)(i) read with section 4(a) of that Act.]

It is not considered necessary to incorporate any provision similar to section 43 of the Special Marriage Act.