HL Deb 29 July 1924 vol 59 cc18-21

Read 3a (according to Order).

Clause 1:

Legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents.

1.—(1) Where the parents of an illegitimate person marry or have married one another, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the marriage shall, if the father of the illegitimate person was or is at the date of the marriage domiciled in England or Wales, render that person, if living, legitimate from the commencement of this Act, or from the date of the marriage, which last happens; and such person is in this Act referred to as "legitimated person."

(2) Nothing in this Act shall operate to legitimate a person whose father or mother was married to a third person when the illegitimate person was born.

(3) This section does not enable a legitimated person to take any interest in real or personal property, which he would not have taken if this section had not been passed.

(4) The Registrar-General may, on production of such evidence as appears to him to be satisfactory, authorise at any time the re-registration of the birth of a legitimated person, and such re-registration shall be effected in such manner, on such information and at such place as the Registrar-General may by regulations prescribe.

(5) No person whose parents have married after the passing of this Act shall be legitimated, nor shall the birth of any such person be re-registered under this Act, unless both parents shall avow in writing at or before the date of the marriage, the paternity of such person, and the regulations to be made under this Act by the Registrar-General shall make provision for such avowals: Persons who have married one another before the passing of this Act must make their avowal in writing at some time during their joint lives, and provision for this purpose shall be made in the regulations, in all other cases legitimacy must be established by proof of percentage and marriage of such parents

EARL RUSSELL:

My Lords, there are some drafting Amendments to this clause which have been circulated, and which look rather serious, but they are not really so formidable as they look. You will recollect that Clause 1 was amended in Committee, with the result that it was not quite clear what was intended, or who was a legitimated person, and these Amendments to Clause 1 are to make that clear. I think, perhaps, it will be more convenient if I moved the Amendments one at a time, but they are all, so far as they relate to Clause 1, for the same purpose. I would point out to your Lordships that the noble and learned Viscount, Lord Cave, has put down Amendments to my Amendments, and I am prepared to accept them, because I think they are improvements. I move my Amendments as amended in the way suggested by Lord Cave, the noble Viscount not being present to move his Amendments.

Amendments moved—

Page 1, line 6, at the beginning insert ("Subject to the provisions of this section")

Page 1, line 13, leave out from ("happens") to end of line 14

Page 1, line 21, at end insert as a new subsection:

(" (4) No person shall be legitimated under this section unless his parentage is recognised by an avowal in writing made in the prescribed manner by both his parents, and such avowal shall be made in the case of parents marrying each other after the commencement of this Act on or before the date of such marriage and in the case of parents who have married each other before the commencement of this Act at any time during their joint lives:

Provided that, if in the case of any person whose parents married one another before the commencement of this Act, such an avowal cannot be made by reason of either parent being dead, or the date of such commencement, the avowal may be made by the surviving parent at any time during his or her life, and if both parents be dead at the commencement of this Act, this subsection shall not apply.")

In this section "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made by the Registrar-General.—(Earl Russell.)

On Question, Amendments agreed to.

EARL RUSSELL

moved, after subsection (4), to insert as a new subsection:—" (6) In this Act the expression 'legitimated person' means a person legitimated under this section. "The noble Earl said: My Lords, it is not clear whether the expression "legitimated person" would include the new persons dealt with under the new subsection, and I therefore move this Amendment.

Amendment moved—

Page 2, line 2, at end insert the said new subsection.—(Earl Russell.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to. Amendment moved—

Page 2, lines 3 to 15, leave out subsection (5).—(Earl Russell.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 8:

Provisions as to persons legitimated by extraneous law.

8.—(1) Where the parents of an illegitimate person marry one another, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, and the father of the illegitimate person was, or is, at the time of the marriage domiciled in a country, other than England or Wales, by the law of which the illegitimate person became legitimated by virtue of such subsequent marriage, that person shall in England and Wales be recognised as having been so legitimated, notwithstanding that his father was not at the time of the birth of such person domiciled in a country where such a rule of law prevailed.

(2) The provisions of this Act with respect to persons legitimated by this Act shall (wherever the father was domiciled at the time of the birth) apply to persons so recognised as having been legitimated in like manner as if such persons had been legitimated by this Act:

Provided that nothing in this Act shall affect the right of any person under any intestacy occurring, will (including codicil) coming into operation, or settlement or other disposition made, before the commencement of this Act to which he would have been entitled if this Act had not been passed.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the expression "country" includes Scotland and any other part of His Majesty's Dominions, as well as a foreign country.

EARL RUSSELL:

The Amendments to this clause—the first in subsection (1), after "legitimated," where that word secondly occurs, and the other, in subsection (2), after "The provisions of this Act with respect to"—are to cover the special provision of Clause 8 which relates to people under foreign law.

Amendments moved—

Page 4, line 30, after ("legitimated") insert ("as from the commencement of this Act or from the date of the marriage, which last happens")

line 33, leave out from ("to") to the end of line 37 and insert ("legitimated persons and to the issue of illegitimate persons in cases where such persons died before the marriage of their parents shall apply respectively to persons recognised as having been legitimated and to the issue of any person who would have been so recognised if he had been living at the time of the marriage of his parents").— (Earl Russell.)

On Question, Amendments agreed to.

Bill passed, and returned to the Commons.