Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011: 2011 asp 15

Format:

Corporate Author:

Scotland Scottish Parliament

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

The aim of the Act is to provide a specific civil remedy for those threatened with forced marriage and those already in such a marriage. An underlying aim of the Act is to bring Scotland in line with existing legislation in the rest of the UK in terms of preventing forced marriage and protecting victims. The Act has two main provisions. Part 1 makes provision for forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs) to protect people from being forced to enter into a marriage without their free and full consent and to protect those who have already been forced to enter into marriage without such consent. A FMPO will allow a sheriff court or the Court of Session to require those responsible for forcing another person into marriage to stop or change their behaviour or to require them to carry out one or more of a range of actions, for example, refrain from certain conduct, comply with certain directions, or provide information to the court. Breach of an FMPO would be a criminal offence. The Act would also allow for local authorities and the Lord Advocate to act as designated relevant third parties to apply, without leave, for an FMPO on behalf of vulnerable victims. Part 2 clarifies the jurisdictional rules that apply where individuals, including victims of a forced marriage, wish to seek a declaration from the sheriff court to make such a marriage void.