The Marriage and Marriage Registration (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2023 No. 53

Marriage

Gender Recognition

The Marriage and Marriage Registration (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023

Made

22nd February 2023

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

24th February 2023

Coming into force

24th April 2023

The Registrar General makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3(1) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977(1), paragraph 20A(1) of schedule 3 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004(2), and all other powers enabling her to do so(3).

In accordance with section 25(1) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and paragraph 20A(1) of schedule 3 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the Scottish Ministers have approved the making of these Regulations(4).

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Marriage and Marriage Registration (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 and come into force on 24 April 2023.

Amendment of the Marriage (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 1997

2.—(1) The Marriage (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 1997(5) are amended as follows.

(2) For the form set out in schedule 1 (marriage notice – Scotland)(6) substitute the form set out in schedule 1 of these Regulations.

Amendment of the Gender Recognition (Marriage and Civil Partnership Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 2016

3.—(1) The Gender Recognition (Marriage and Civil Partnership Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 2016(7) are amended as follows.

(2) For the form set out in schedule 1 (application form to register a marriage following issue of full gender recognition certificate) substitute the form set out in schedule 2 of these Regulations.

ANNE SLATER

Deputy Registrar General

New Register House,

Edinburgh

22nd February 2023

Approved by the Scottish Ministers

ANGUS ROBERTSON

A member of the Scottish Government

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

22nd February 2023

Regulation 2(2)

SCHEDULE 1

Regulation 3(2)

SCHEDULE 2

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Regulation 2 of these Regulations amends the Marriage (Prescription of Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 1997 to replace the form by which a person gives notice to the district registrar of their intention to marry. Regulation 3 amends the Gender Recognition (Marriage and Civil Partnership Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 to replace the form by which the parties to a marriage can apply to have the marriage re-registered after either party, or each party, has been issued with a full gender recognition certificate.

The new forms differ from the previous forms only by an addition to the options available to each party to the marriage as to how they wish to be described in the marriage register and, where applicable, the marriage schedule. In addition to the options of being described as ‘bride’ or ‘bridegroom’ or not being assigned any designation the new forms give each party the option of being described as ‘groom’.

(1)

1977 c. 15 (“the 1977 Act”); section 3(1) of the 1977 Act was relevantly amended by section 50(2)(a) of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 (asp 14); section 26(1) of the 1977 Act, read in conjunction with section 1 of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 (c. 49) contains a definition of “Registrar General” relevant to the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made; section 26(2) of the 1977 Act contains a definition of “prescribed” relevant to the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made.

(2)

2004 c. 7 (“the 2004 Act”); paragraph 20A of schedule 3 of the 2004 Act was inserted by paragraph 9(2)(b) of schedule 2 of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 5) and the definition of “qualifying Scottish civil partnership” in paragraph 20A(4) was relevantly amended by paragraph 5(19) of schedule 2 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 (asp 15); paragraph 12 of schedule 3 of the 2004 Act contains a definition of “the Registrar General” relevant to the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made.

(3)

The powers to make these Regulations are exercised together by virtue of section 33(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 10). These Regulations are subject to the negative procedure by virtue of section 33(4) of that Act.

(4)

The functions of the Secretary of State under the 1977 Act were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

(5)

S.I. 1997/2349.

(6)

The form set out in schedule 1 was last substituted by S.S.I. 2015/313.

(7)

S.S.I. 2016/66.