The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Conversion before an officiant: returning the signed declaration

11.—(1) This regulation applies in relation to a conversion before an officiant.

(2) The couple must arrange for the conversion declaration, signed in accordance with regulation 10, to be delivered to a registrar within 3 days of its being signed.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a registrar may not register the marriage resulting from the conversion if the registrar does not receive the signed conversion declaration.

(4) The Registrar General may, if satisfied that the conversion declaration was signed in accordance with regulation 10(6) but has been lost or destroyed or damaged, direct a registrar to—

(a) make arrangements for each party, and the person officiating (as defined in regulation 10(12)), to sign a copy of the declaration originally signed, and

(b) register the marriage resulting from the conversion.

(5) Where the conversion declaration has not been received by a registrar before the expiry of 21 days from the date of signing entered on the declaration, a registrar may serve a notice on either party requiring that party to arrange for the declaration to be delivered to a registrar within 8 days from the date of service of the notice.

(6) If the party on whom a notice has been served under paragraph (5) fails to comply with the notice, a registrar may serve on that party a second notice requiring that party to attend personally at a registrar’s office, within 8 days from the date of service of the second notice, for the purpose of delivering the conversion declaration to a registrar.

(7) Where a party fails to attend as required by a notice under paragraph (6), and the signed conversion declaration has not been delivered to a registrar before the end of the time allowed under that paragraph for that attendance, the couple’s civil partnership is to be treated (at all times after the signing) as not having ended and not having been converted into a marriage.

(8) Paragraph (7) does not apply if—

(a) the Registrar General for Northern Ireland considers that there is a reasonable excuse for the failure, and

(b) the signed conversion declaration is delivered to a registrar or a direction is given under paragraph (4).

(9) Section 24(1) and (2)(a) to (c) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) (modes of service on individuals, and effect of service by post) apply for the purposes of paragraphs (5) and (6) as they apply for the purposes of an enactment as defined by section 1 of that Act.

(1)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.). The reference to registered post in section 24(1) includes the recorded delivery service: see the Recorded Delivery Service Act (Northern Ireland) 1963 (c. 5 (N.I.)). The meaning of “registered post” and “recorded delivery service” are modified by Part 1 of Schedule 8 to the Postal Services Act 2000 (c. 26): that Part extends to Northern Ireland and applies to the 1954 and 1963 Acts (see section 131 of the 2000 Act, and the definition of “enactment” in section 125(1) of the 2000 Act). In section 1 of the 1954 Act, the definition of “enactment” is affected by the amendment of section 1(a) by S.I. 1999/663.