Party to marriage under age of 16
21(1)Except as provided in this section, no marriage of any person under the age of 16 years shall be solemnized and no licence shall be issued to a person under the age of 16 years.
21(2)Subject to subsection (3), if a party to an intended marriage is under the age of 16 years, that party may apply by Notice of Application to a judge of The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick for a declaration under this section, and the judge applied to shall proceed on the Notice of Application in a summary manner and, if the marriage proposed appears on cause shown to be proper, the judge shall judicially declare it to be proper.
21(3)A party who makes an application under subsection (2) shall file with The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick the consent or consents and affidavits required under subsection 20(1) or, if subsection 20(3) applies, the required affidavit under that subsection and, if the required consent or consents cannot be obtained for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection 20(4), the judge applied to may dispense with the required consent or consents and may make the declaration referred to in subsection (2).
21(4)The judge to whom an application has been made under subsection (2) may require the Minister to investigate whether the proposed marriage appears to be proper and to submit to the judge a report and recommendation.
21(5)Every declaration made under subsection (2) shall be filed in a manner similar to that provided in subsection 20(5).
1983, c.50, s.9; 1986, c.8, s.70; 1986, c.52, s.14; 1995, c.10, s.10