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Acts and Regulations

A-4 - Age of Majority Act

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CHAPTER A-4

Age of Majority Act

Repealed: R.S.N.B. 2011, Schedule A

Age of majority

1(1)A person attains the age of majority and ceases to be a minor on attaining the age of nineteen years.

1(2)A person who has attained the age of nineteen years but has not attained the age of twenty-one years, attains the age of majority and ceases to be a minor on the coming into force of this Act.

1(3)Subject to the provisions of this Act, this section applies with respect to every law that is within the legislative competence of the Legislature and in force in the Province on or after the day this Act comes into force.

1972, c.5, s.1

Interpretation of statutes

2(1)When used in

(a) an Act of the Legislature, or any regulation, order or by-law made under an Act of the Legislature, enacted or made before or after the coming into force of this Act,

(b) an Act of Parliament or a provision thereof, that, by an Act of the Legislature, enacted before or after the day this Act comes into force, is made to apply in respect of any Act, matter or thing that is within the legislative competence of the Legislature,

(d) an order or direction of a court made before or after the coming into force of this Act,

the words “child”, except where used only to indicate a child-parent relationship, “infant”, “infancy”, “minor”, “minority”, and similar words shall be construed as referring to a person who has not attained the age of majority, and the words “adult”, “full age” and similar words shall be construed as referring to a person who has attained the age of majority.

2(2)Subsection (1) does not apply where it is expressed or implied in the enactment, regulation, order, by-law, direction or instrument that a meaning was intended by the use of a word that is inconsistent with the construction required to be placed on the word by that subsection.

2(3)A reference to any age between the ages of nineteen years and twenty-one years inclusive in

(a) an Act of the Legislature or any regulation, order or by-law made under an Act of the Legislature, or

(b) an order or direction of a court,

enacted or made before August 1, 1972, shall be deemed to be a reference to the age of nineteen years.

1972, c.5, s.2

Particular age attained at birthday

3A person attains a particular age expressed in years at the commencement of that anniversary of the date of his birth.

1972, c.5, s.3

Effect of Act on deeds, wills and other instruments

4(1)Every provision in a deed, will or any other instrument whatsoever executed before August 1, 1972 shall have effect and be construed as if this Act is not in force.

4(2)Notwithstanding any rule of law, a will or codicil executed before August 1, 1972 shall not be considered, for the purpose of this Act, as having been made on or after that day by reason only that the codicil or will is confirmed by a codicil executed on or after that day.

1972, c.5, s.4

Law of perpetuities unaffected

5This Act does not affect the law relating to perpetuities.

1972, c.5, s.5

Effect of Act on actions

6This Act does not affect a right of action or a defence to an action that is based upon the age of a party and that existed on the coming into force of this Act.

1972, c.5, s.6

Effect of Act on period of limitation

7Where, on August 1, 1972, a person has

(a) attained the age of nineteen years but has not attained the age of twenty-one years, and

(b) a right of action in respect of which the period of limitation applicable to the bringing of the action would have, but for this Act, commenced to run on his attaining the age of twenty-one years,

the period of limitation in respect of that right of action commences to run on August 1, 1972.

1972, c.5, s.7

Effect of Act on Adoption Act

8Nothing in this Act prevents the making of an interim or final adoption order under the Adoption Act in respect of a person who has attained the age of nineteen years or more if the notice of intention to apply for an adoption order was served on the Director of Child Welfare before August 1, 1972, and the Adoption Act applies to that case as if this Act had not come into force.

1972, c.5, s.8

“Minor” defined

9A person who has not attained the age of nineteen years may be described as a minor.

1972, c.5, s.9

N.B. This Act is consolidated to September 1, 2011.