The Legitimacy Act 1959 was an Act of the

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. It was repealed by the

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Act

Prior to the passing of the Act, legitimacy was governed by the

Legitimacy Act 1926 The Legitimacy Act 1926 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 mee ...

. Under that act, the marriage of a child's parents after its birth did not legitimise it when one of the parents was married to a third person at the birth of the child. Although the

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recommended keeping this on the statute books by a vote of twelve to seven, Section 1 repealed this and allowed a child to be legitimised when his parents married, regardless of their past status. This was retroactive; if a child's parents were married when the Act came into force, the child was legitimised. Section 2 legitimised the children born of void marriages, provided that both or either parents reasonably believed that the marriages were valid and entered into in good faith (such as a marriage below the age of consent, where both wife and husband believed they are above it).Section 2 of the Legitimacy Act 1959 Section 2(3) of the Legitimacy Act 1959 provided also that section 2 applied only where the father of the child was domiciliated in England.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite journal, year=1960, title=Legitimacy Act, 1959, journal= Modern Law Review, publisher=

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, first=O, last=Kahn-Freud, volume=23, issue=1, issn=0026-7961 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1959 Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Legitimacy law Family law in the United Kingdom