Page:Marriage Act 1961 from statute book.djvu/10

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(2) A marriage officer shall solemnize any marriage in a church or other building used for religious service, or in a public office or private dwelling-house, with open doors and in the presence of the parties themselves and at least two competent witnesses.

(3) No person shall under the provisions of this Act be capable of contracting a valid marriage through any other person acting as his representative.

30. In solemnizing any marriage the marriage officer, if he is a minister of religion or a person holding a responsible position in a religious denomination or organization, may follow the rites usually observed by his religious denomination or organization, but if he is any other marriage officer he shall put the following questions to each of the parties separately, each of whom shall reply thereto in the affirmative: “Do you, A.B., declare that as far as you know there is no lawful impediment to your proposed marriage with C.D. here present, and that you call all here present to witness that you take C.D. as your lawful wife (or husband)?”, and thereupon the parties shall give each other the right hand and the said marriage officer shall declare the marriage solemnized in the following words: “I declare that A.B. and C.D. here present have been lawfully married.”

31. Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed so as to compel a marriage officer who is a minister of religion or a person holding a responsible position in a religious denomination or organization to solemnize a marriage which would not conform to the rites, formularies, tenets, doctrines or discipline of his religious denomination or organization.

32. (1) No marriage officer may demand or receive any fee, gift or reward, for or by reason of anything done by him as marriage officer in terms of this Act: Provided that a minister of religion or a person holding a responsible position in a religious denomination or organization may, for or by reason of any such thing done by him, receive―

such fees or payments as were immediately prior to the commencement of this Act ordinarily paid to any such minister of religion or person in terms of the rules and regulations of his religious denomination or organization, for or by reason of any such thing done by him in terms of a prior law; or such fee as may be prescribed.

(2) Any marriage officer who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred rand or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.