This Act was repealed on 2015-07-03 by Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act.
Malawi
Marriage Act
Chapter 25:01
- Commenced on 1 February 1903
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 2014.]
- [Note: This version of the Act was revised and consolidated in the Fifth Revised Edition of the Laws of Malawi (L.R.O. 1/2018), by the Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice under the authority of the Revision of the Laws Act.]
- [Repealed by Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act (Act 4 of 2015) on 3 July 2015]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“district” means a marriage district constituted under this Act;“Registrar” means a Registrar of Marriages, and includes a Deputy Registrar.3. Constitution of marriage districts
The Minister shall, by order published in the Gazette, divide Malawi into districts for the purposes of this Act and may, from time to time, by like order, alter the marriage districts either by alteration of boundaries or by union or subdivision of districts, or by the formation of new districts.4. Appointment of Registrars and Deputy Registrars
5. Officers of Registrars
Every Registrar shall have an office at such place in his district as the Minister shall from time to time direct.6. Places of worship to be licensed for celebration of marriages
The Minister may license any place of public worship to be a place for the celebration of marriages, and may at any time cancel such license; in either case he shall give notice thereof in the Gazette.Preliminaries to marriage
7. Notice of marriage
Whenever, after the commencement of this Act, any persons desire to marry, one of the parties to the intended marriage shall sign and give to the Registrar of the district in which such party resides a notice in the Form A in the First Schedule.Should the party giving the said notice desire the marriage to be celebrated in a district other than that in which he resides he shall so inform the Registrar.8. Signature of notice by person unable to write or to understand the English language
If the person giving such notice is unable to write or is insufficiently acquainted with the English language, or both, then it shall be sufficient if he places his mark or cross thereto in the presence of some literate person who shall attest the same, which attestation shall be in the Form B in the First Schedule.9. Registrars to supply forms of notice
Every Registrar shall supply forms of notice gratuitously to any persons applying for the same.10. Notice to be entered in Marriage Notice Book and published
Upon receipt of such notice the Registrar shall cause the same to be entered in a book to be called the “Marriage Notice Book”, which may be inspected during office hours without fee. He shall also publish such notice by causing a copy of the same to be affixed on the outer door of his office, and to be kept exposed there until he grants his certificate as hereinafter mentioned, or until three months shall have elapsed.If the marriage is intended to be celebrated in another district he shall forward a copy of the said notice to the Registrar of such other district who shall immediately on receipt thereof cause it to be affixed to the outer door of his office.11. Registrar’s certificate
The Registrar of the district in which the person giving the said notice of marriage resides, at any time after the expiration of twenty-one days and before the expiration of three months from the date of the notice and upon payment of the prescribed fee, shall thereupon issue his certificate in the Form C in the First Schedule:Provided always that he shall not issue such certificate until he has been satisfied by affidavit—12. Facilities for marriages between Commonwealth citizens resident in Malawi and Commonwealth citizens resident in the United Kingdom
13. Marriage to take place within three months after date of notice
If the marriage shall not take place within three months after the date of the notice, the notice and all proceedings consequent thereupon shall be void, and fresh notice must be given before the parties can lawfully marry.14. Power of Minister to grant licence to marry
The Minister, upon proof being made to him by affidavit that there is no lawful impediment to the proposed marriage, and that the necessary consent (if any) to such marriage has been obtained, may, in his discretion, dispense with the giving of notice, and with the issue of the certificate of the Registrar, and may grant a special licence, which shall be according to the Form D in the First Schedule authorizing the celebration of a marriage between the parties named in such licence by a Registrar, or by a recognized minister of some religious denomination or body.15. Issue of certificate may be forbidden
Any person whose consent to a marriage is hereby required, or who may know of any just cause why the marriage should not take place, may enter a caveat against the issue of the Registrar’s certificate, by writing at any time before the issue thereof the word “Forbidden;”, opposite to the entry of the notice in the Marriage Notice Book, and appending thereto his name and place of abode, and the grounds upon or by reason of which he claims to forbid the issue of the certificate, and the Registrar shall not issue his certificate until such caveat shall be removed as hereinafter is provided.16. Caveat to be referred to Court
Whenever a caveat is entered against the issue of a certificate, the Registrar shall refer the matter to the High Court, and that Court shall thereupon summon the parties to the intended marriage, and the person by whom the caveat is entered, and shall require, the person by whom the caveat is entered to show cause why the Registrar should not issue his certificate, and shall hear and determine the case in a summary way, and the decision of the High Court shall be final.17. Removal of caveat
If the High Court decides that the certificate ought to be issued, the judge shall remove the caveat by cancelling the word “Forbidden” in the Marriage Notice Book in ink, and writing in such Marriage Notice Book, immediately below such entry and cancellation, the words “Cancelled by order of the High Court;”, and signing his name thereto. The Registrar shall then issue his certificate and the marriage may proceed as if the caveat had not been entered, but the time that has elapsed between the entering and the removal of the caveat shall not be computed in the period of three months specified in section 11.18. Compensation and costs
The High Court may award compensation and costs to the party injured, if it appears that a caveat was entered on insufficient grounds.Consent to marriage in certain cases necessary
19. Consent to marriage of minors
If either party to an intended marriage, not being a widower, widow or divorced person, is not over eighteen years of age, the written consent of the father or mother, or if both be dead or of unsound mind or absent from Malawi, of the guardian of such party, must be produced annexed to such affidavit as aforesaid, before a licence can be granted or a certificate issued.[29 of 1997]20. Signature of consent by person unable to write or to understand English language
21. Consent where no parent or guardian capable of consenting
If there be no parent or guardian of such party residing in Malawi and capable of consenting to the marriage, then any of the following persons may consent to such marriage in writing, upon being satisfied after due inquiry that the marriage is a proper one; that is to say, the Minister, a Judge of the High Court, a District Commissioner, and such consent shall be as effectual as if the father or mother had consented.Celebration of marriage
22. Marriage in licensed place of worship by recognized minister
Between hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.WitnessesMarriages may be celebrated in any licensed place of worship by any recognized minister of the Church denomination or body to which such place of worship belongs, and according to the rites or usages of marriage observed in such Church, denomination or body, provided that the marriage be celebrated with open doors between the hours of 8 o’clock in the forenoon and 6 o’clock in the afternoon, and in the presence of two or more witnesses besides the officiating minister.23. Minister not to celebrate marriage if impediment nor without license, etc.
A minister shall not celebrate any marriage if he knows of any just impediment to such marriage, nor until the parties deliver to him the Registrar’s certificate or the Minister’s licence.24. Where minister may celebrate marriage
A minister shall not celebrate any marriage except in a building which has been duly licensed by the Minister, or in such place as a special licence may direct.25. Registrars, etc., to be provided with books of certificates
The Minister shall cause to be printed and delivered to the several Registrars, and to the recognized ministers of licensed places of worship, books of marriage certificates in duplicate and with counterfoils in the Form E in the First Schedule. Such books shall be kept by the several Registrars and the recognized ministers for the time being of such places of worship, under lock and key, and be in custody of such Registrars and ministers respectively.26. Entries to be made in marriage certificate
Immediately after the celebration of any marriage by a minister, the officiating minister shall fill up in duplicate a marriage certificate with the particulars required by the said Form E, and state also and enter in the counterfoil the number of the certificate, the date of the marriage, names of the parties, and the names of the witnesses.27. Signature of certificate
Duplicate certificate to be sent to RegistrarThe certificate shall then be signed in duplicate by the officiating minister, by the parties and by two or more witnesses to the marriage. The minister having also signed his name to the counterfoil, he shall sever the duplicate certificate therefrom, and he shall deliver one certificate to the parties, and shall within seven days thereafter transmit the other to the Registrar for the district in which the marriage takes place, who shall file the same in his office.28. Marriage in a Registrar’s office
After the issue of a certificate under section 11 or 17, or of a licence under section 14, the parties may, if they think fit, contract a marriage before a Registrar, in the presence of two witnesses in his office, with open doors, between the hours of 10 o’clock in the forenoon and 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and in the following manner—Form to be observedThe Registrar, after production to him of the certificate or licence, shall, either directly or through an interpreter, address the parties thus—“Do I understand that you A B, and you C D, come here for the purpose of becoming man and wife?”If the parties answer in the affirmative, he shall proceed thus—“Know ye that by the public taking of each other as man and wife in my presence, and in the presence of the persons now here, and by the subsequent attestation thereof by signing your names to that effect you become legally married to each other, although no other rite of a civil or religious nature shall take place, and that this marriage cannot be dissolved during your lifetime, except by a valid judgment of divorce; and if either of you before the death of the other shall contract another marriage while this remains undissolved, you will be thereby guilty of bigamy, and liable to punishment for that offence.”Each of the parties shall then say to the other, “I call upon all persons here present to witness that I, A B, do take thee, C D, to be my lawful wife (or husband)”.29. Marriage certificate to be signed
The Registrar shall then fill up, and he and the parties and witnesses shall sign the certificate of the marriage in duplicate, and the Registrar shall then fill up and sign the counterfoil as hereinbefore prescribed in the case of a marriage by a minister, and shall deliver one certificate to the parties and shall file the other in his office.30. Marriage under special licence
Whenever a special licence authorizes the celebration of marriage at a place other than a licensed place of worship, or the office of a Registrar, the Registrar of the district in which such marriage is intended to take place, upon the production of such licence, shall deliver to the person producing the same, a blank certificate of marriage in duplicate, and the minister or Registrar celebrating such marriage shall fill up such certificate, and observe strictly all the formalities hereinbefore prescribed as to marriages in a licensed place of worship, or Registrar’s office, as the case may be.Registry and evidence of marriages
31. Marriage certificate to be registered
32. Correction of clerical errors in marriage certificates
Any Registrar, when authorized by the Registrar General, may correct any clerical error in any certificate of marriage filed in his office, upon production to him of the certificate delivered to the parties, and shall authenticate every such correction by his signature and the date of such correction.33. Evidence of marriage
Every certificate of marriage which shall have been filed in the office of the Registrar of any district, or a copy thereof purporting to be signed and certified as a true copy by the Registrar of such district for the time being, and every entry in a Marriage Register Book or copy thereof certified as aforesaid, shall be admissible as evidence of the marriage to which it relates, in any Court of Justice or before any person now or hereafter having by law or consent of parties authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence.Invalid marriages
34. Marriage with deceased wife’s sister or niece lawful
35. Marriages under this Act valid
All marriages celebrated under this Act shall be good and valid in law to all intents and purposes.36. Marriages under customary law
Any person who is married under this Act, or whose marriage is declared by this Act to be valid, shall be incapable, during the continuance of such marriage, of contracting a valid marriage under any customary law, but save as aforesaid, nothing in this Act contained shall affect the validity of any marriage contracted under or in accordance with any customary law, or in any manner apply to marriages so contracted.Marriages already celebrated
37. Certain existing marriages validated
Every marriage celebrated in Malawi before the commencement of this Act by any minister of any religious denomination or body, according to the rites in use by such religious denomination or body, shall be, and shall be deemed to have been from the time of the celebration thereof, a legal and valid marriage:Provided that nothing herein contained shall legalize any marriage which has before the commencement of this Act been declared invalid by any competent Court, nor any marriage, either party to which had at the time of its celebration a lawful wife or husband living, nor any marriage which was void by reason of kindred or affinity, or fraud, or incapacity to contract marriage; nor any marriage otherwise invalid, either party to which shall before the commencement of this Act, and in the lifetime of the other party thereto, have intermarried with any other person.38. Existing registers of marriages to be transmitted to Registrar General
Every minister of religion or other person in Malawi who has in his custody or control any register, record, or paper purporting to be such, of marriages heretofore celebrated in Malawi shall deliver or transmit to the Registrar General the said register or official record, or a copy thereof, omitting, if desired, any matter of a private nature, with a certificate appended thereto in the following form—“I, A B, of [here describe place of abode and position], do certify that the annexed written pages contain the true record (excepting matters of a confidential nature) of the marriages heretofore celebrated in [here name church].Dated the ____________ day of ______________ 20 ____________[Signed “A B”.)”39. Certain expenses to be defrayed from moneys provided by Parliament
The Minister may defray out of moneys provided by Parliament all proper expenses connected with the transmission or delivery of the said registers, or which may otherwise become necessary to be incurred in carrying out this Act.Fees
40. Fees
41. Power to remit fees on ground of poverty
The Minister may, when he is satisfied of the poverty of the parties, reduce the amount of the said fees, or remit them altogether; and, if they have been paid into the Consolidated Fund, order their refund.42. Marriage may receive customary fees
This Act shall not preclude a minister from receiving the fees ordinarily paid to a minister of his denomination for the celebration of marriage.Offences and penalties
43. Bigamy
Whoever is guilty of bigamy shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.44. Marriage with person previously married
Whoever, being unmarried, goes through the ceremony of marriage with a person whom he or she knows to be married to another person, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.45. Making false declarations, etc., for marriage
Whoever in any declaration, certificate, licence, document, or statement by law to be made or issued for the purposes of a marriage, declares, enters, certifies, or states any material matter which is false, shall, if he does so without having taken reasonable means to ascertain the truth or falsity of such matter, be liable to imprisonment for one year, or shall, if he does so knowing that such matter is false, be liable to imprisonment for five years.46. False presence of impediment to marriage
Whoever endeavours to prevent a marriage by pretence that his consent thereto is required by law, or that any person whose consent is so required does not consent, or that there is any legal impediment to the performing of such marriage, shall, if he does so knowing that such pretence is false or without having reason to believe that it is true, be liable to imprisonment for two years.47. Registrar unlawfully performing ceremony
Any Registrar who performs the ceremony of marriage knowing that any of the matters required by law for the validity of such marriage has not happened or been performed, so that the marriage is void or unlawful on any grounds shall be liable upon conviction thereof before the High Court to a fine of K200 and to imprisonment for five years.48. Minister unlawfully performing ceremony
Any minister who—49. Unlawful performance of ceremony by person not legally competent
Any person who shall knowingly and wilfully celebrate or pretend to celebrate any marriage not being legally competent so to do, shall, upon conviction thereof before the High Court, be liable to a fine of K200 and to imprisonment for five years.50. Wilful neglect of duty to fill up or transmit certificate of marriage
Whoever, being under a duty to fill up the certificate of a marriage celebrated by him, or the counterfoil thereof, or to transmit the same to the Registrar, wilfully fails to perform such duty, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.51. Personation in marriage
Whoever personates any other person in marriage, or marries under a false name or description, with intent to deceive the other party to the marriage, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.52. Fictitious marriage
Whoever goes through the ceremony of marriage, or any ceremony which he or she represents to be a ceremony of marriage, knowing that the marriage is void on any ground, and that the other person believes it to be valid, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.53. Contracting marriage under this Act when already married by customary law
Whoever contracts a marriage under this Act, or any modification or re-enactment thereof, being at the time married in accordance with customary law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is contracted, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.54. Contracting marriage by customary law when already married under this Act
Whoever, having contracted marriage under this Act, or any modification or re-enactment thereof, during the continuance of such marriage contracts a marriage in accordance with customary law, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.55. Reservation of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction under this Act shall be reserved to the High Court.Forms
56. Forms in Schedule may be used
History of this document
03 July 2015
Repealed by
Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act
31 December 2014 this version
Consolidation
01 February 1903
Commenced