Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969

Section 6.

SCHEDULE 1 Modifications of Provisions of the Marriage Act 1949 Relating to the Registration of Buildings, in their Application to Shared Church Buildings

1 A church building to which a sharing agreement relates may be registered under section 41 of the [1949 c. 76.] Marriage Act 1949 (hereinafter referred to as " the Act") notwithstanding that it is not a separate building or deemed to be a separate building within the meaning of that section.

2 An application under the said section 41 shall be made by a representative (as hereinafter defined) of a sharing Church other than the Church of England, and, if there are two or more such Churches, the registration shall be deemed to have been made on behalf of the congregations of all those Churches, whether or not their representatives joined in the application.

3 Where a sharing Church other than the Church of England withdraws from the sharing of a registered church building, which continues to be used by another such Church, the registration shall not be cancelled.

4 An authorisation and certification of a person under section 43(1) of the Act to be present at the solemnization of marriages in a church building to which a sharing agreement relates shall be effected by a representative of a sharing Church other than the Church of England, and, if there are two or more such sharing Churches, different persons may be so authorised and certified on behalf of those Churches, but each such person shall be an authorised person for the purposes of the Act in respect of the solemnization of any marriage in that building; and references in the Act to authorised persons and their certification shall be construed accordingly.

5 The proviso added to the said section 43(1) by the [1958 c. 29.] Marriage Acts Amendment Act 1958, which prescribes a period of twelve months before a person may be authorised as aforesaid, shall not apply to any authorisation under this Schedule, and, if a sharing Church withdraws, in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 3 above, from the sharing of a registered church building, the registration shall, for the purpose of the application of the said proviso to another building registered on behalf of the congregation of the withdrawing Church, be deemed to have been cancelled at the time of the withdrawal.

6 The consent required under the proviso to section 44(1) of the Act shall, if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the rites of a sharing Church, be given by the minister ordinarily responsible for the conduct of worship by the congregation of that Church or, if the sharing Church is not the Roman Catholic Church, by a representative of that sharing Church, and in the case of other marriages shall be given by one of the trustees, owners or managers of the building.

7 The appointment of two or more authorised persons in respect of the same building shall not require any additional set or sets of duplicate marriage register books to be supplied for that building, and regulations made under section 74 of the Act may make provision with respect to the custody and use of the register books and the returns to be made by the authorised persons of the entries therein, and may make any necessary modifications of the provisions of the Act relating to those matters.

8 Nothing in this Schedule shall affect any registration or authorisation which is in force when a sharing agreement takes effect in respect of the building concerned, and any such registration or authorisation shall continue in force and have effect as if it had been made under this Schedule.

9 In this Schedule " representative", in relation to a Church sharing a church building, means—

(a) if the building is jointly owned, a trustee representing that Church;

(b) in any other case, a party to the agreement on behalf of that Church.