The Age of Marriage Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo 5 c 36) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which increased the

age of marriage Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social acceptance, social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and othe ...

to sixteen. It was passed in response to a campaign by the

National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was re ...

. The whole Act was repealed as to Scotland by section 28(2) of, an
Schedule 3
to, the

Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 Marriage in Scotland is recognised in the form of both civil and religious unions between individuals. Historically, the law of marriage has developed differently in Scotland to other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom as a consequence of the di ...

. Corresponding provision was made for Northern Ireland by the

Age of Marriage Act (Northern Ireland) 1951 Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

Section 1

At common law and by canon law a person who had attained the legal age of puberty could contract a valid marriage. A marriage contracted by persons either of whom was under the legal age of puberty was

voidable Voidable, in law, is a transaction or action that is valid but may be annulled by one of the parties to the transaction. Voidable is usually used in distinction to void ''ab initio'' (or void from the outset) and unenforceable. Definition The ac ...

. The legal age of puberty was fourteen years for males and twelve years for females. This section amended the law so that a marriage contracted by persons either of whom was under the age of sixteen years was

void Void may refer to: Science, engineering, and technology * Void (astronomy), the spaces between galaxy filaments that contain no galaxies * Void (composites), a pore that remains unoccupied in a composite material * Void, synonym for vacuum, a s ...

. This provision is re-enacted by section 2 of the

Marriage Act 1949 The Marriage Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo 6 c 76) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating marriages in England and Wales. The Act had prohibited solemnizing marriages during evenings and at night. Since the Marriage Act 1836 i ...

. In section 1(1), the words from the beginning to "Provided that" were repealed by Part I of th
Fifth Schedule
to the Marriage Act 1949. The proviso to section 1(1) was repealed by th
Fourth Schedule
to the

Sexual Offences Act 1956 The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz.2 c.69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Sex ...

and b
Schedule 2
to the

Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976 Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female. Sex or SEX may also refer to: Biology and behaviour *Animal sexual behaviour **Copulation (zoology) **Human sexual activity ** Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse ...

. Section 1(2)(a) was repealed by Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Marriage Act 1949. See also sections 6(2) and 14(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

Reception

In ''Pugh v Pugh'', Pearce J said: The ''Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review'' said that "Acts of Parliament that lay down hard and fast rules interfering with individual liberty are certain to give rise to some unsatisfactory results" and that this particular Act was "no exception".(1932) 96 Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review 47
Google Books
/ref>

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...

{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1929 Marriage law in the United Kingdom Marriage age