The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (c 20) is 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 ...

. It seeks to assist victims of

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

, or those threatened with

, by providing civil remedies. It extends to

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

– it does not extend to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, as this is a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

competence.

Forced marriage protection order

The centrepiece of the Act is the forced marriage protection order (FMPO). A person threatened with forced marriage can apply to court for a forced marriage order can contain whatever provisions which the court finds would be appropriate to prevent the forced marriage from taking place, or to protect a victim of forced marriage from its effects, and may include such measures as confiscation of passport or restrictions on contact with the victim. The subject of a forced marriage order can be not just the person to whom the forced marriage will occur, but also any other person who aids, abets or encourages the forced marriage. A marriage can be considered forced not merely on the grounds of threats of physical violence to the victim, but also through threats of physical violence to third parties (e.g. the victim's family), or even self-violence (e.g. marriage procured through threat of suicide.) A person who violates a force marriage order is subject to contempt of court proceedings and may be arrested.

History

It was introduced as a private member's bill into the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Lord Lester of Herne Hill Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC (3 July 1936 – 8 August 2020) was a British barrister and member of the House of Lords. He was at different times a member of the Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and the Liberal D ...

on the 16 November 2006. It was passed by the House of Lords on 13 June 2007, passed by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on the 17 July 2007, and received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 26 July 2007. Unusually, although this was a private member's bill, almost the entire contents of the bill was replaced by Government amendments in the Grand Committee, with the support of Lord Lester. The Act modified practices heretofore governed by the

Family Law Act 1996 The Family Law Act 1996c 27 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom governing divorce law and marriage. The law intends to modernise divorce and to shift slightly towards "no fault" divorce from the fault-based approach of the Matrimonial Ca ...

; punishment of FMPO offences is further detailed in Part 10 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Prior to this the

Children Act 1989 The Children Act 1989 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It centres on th ...

section 8 could be used by local authorities to issue a prohibited steps order to prevent parents from taking a child to get forcibly married.

References

External links

The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007
as amended from the National Archives
The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007
as originally enacted from the National Archives
Explanatory notes
to the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007
The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (Commencement No.1) Order 2008
(S.I. 2008/2779 (C.122))
The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008
(S.I. 2008/446 (C.26))
Forced Marriage UnitHouse of Commons Library, Research Paper 07/56, Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill (HL), Bill 129 of 2006-07, 28 June 2007Explanatory Notes to the Bill, prepared by the Ministry of Justice
{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2007 Marriage law in the United Kingdom Forced marriage

Forced marriage protection order

History

See also

References

External links