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Written question asked by Crispin Blunt (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 October 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 October 2020. It was answered by Alex Chalk (Conservative) on Friday, 16 October 2020 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.


Marriage: Humanism

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising Humanist Marriages in law following the 2014 Ministry of Justice review into marriages by non-religious belief organisations and the 2020 High Court ruling that a failure to recognise humanist marriages is discriminatory.

Answer

The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.

The Law Commission published a consultation paper on 3 September 2020 as part of its review and will welcome responses from all.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
100274
Session
2019-21
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Marriage Humanism
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk