THE age at which Islanders can get married or enter civil partnerships has been raised from 16 to 18.
Wide-ranging legislation brought before the States Assembly yesterday by Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida also prevents parents from giving their children ‘confusing, embarrassing or offensive’ names. The new law allows a registrar to register a birth without a name, if this is the case.
Previous legislation also meant that a child’s birth could be registered without a name, and ‘essentially permits a child to remain nameless’, according to Deputy Guida, which breached a child’s rights to a name and an identity. Deputy Guida said that his ministry would be responsible for naming a child in the case of parents not complying or who could not be found.
Meanwhile, Deputy Guida said that raising the minimum age for marriage would comply with United Nations recommendations, regarding concerns over forced marriage of girls and boys aged 16 and 17, and was supported by a majority of Islanders in a consultation (77%).
‘Whilst forced marriage is not necessarily an issue of immediate concern within Jersey’s resident community, people who do not live in Jersey can get married in the Island, and hence there is a potential for exploitation in relation to forced marriage,’ said Deputy Guida.
Changes in 2018 allowed for open-air marriages, which Deputy Guida said had ‘proved popular’ but also brought ‘practical challenges in the case of inclement weather’. The new law means that when couples opt for an open-air location, an alternative inside location can also be selected where the marriage can take place in poor weather.
Deputy Louise Doublet, whose original proposition prompted the changes, welcomed the new law but added that some couples were still being put off by a lack of suitable outdoor locations.
The changes also abolished Jersey legislation ‘that a wife’s domicile [permanent home] is that of her husband’s’, which previously meant ‘a woman who is married to a man who is not domiciled in Jersey, is unable to have a domicile of choice in Jersey, irrespective of the length of time she has resided in Jersey’, according to a report accompanying the new law.
Members approved Deputy Guida’s proposal unanimously.
