THE Marriage (Pure-Blood, Half-Blood and Muggle-Born) Act 2001
An Act to establish the Department of Marriage and to amend the Marriage Act of 1753 following the decline in magical population after the Civil Wars of 1979 and 1995.
[1 July 2001]
Part 1
Amendments to the Marriage Act of 1753
1. Single witches over seventeen
A witch over the age of seventeen and under the age of forty commits a 'Section 1 offence' if she remains unmarried, or otherwise attached, to an acceptable wizard, without a lawful exemption as permitted by the provisions of this Act.
2. Exemption of witches
A witch may appeal to the Department of Marriage, established in Part 2 of this Act, for exemption from a Section 1 offence, if she –
(1) enters into a binding betrothal or similar arrangement with an acceptable wizard unable to marry her until a later date, with a full disclosure of reasons for this delay, or
(2) has entered into, before the commencement of this Act on 31 October 2001, a binding obligation to a notable cause that prevents her from marriage.
3. Single witches: Assistance
A person commits a 'Section 3 offence' if he knowingly assists, directly or indirectly, in effect or with the potential to have the effect of, actually or in attempt, to aid, abet, counsel or procure a Section 1 offence.
4. Penalty
(1) A witch guilty of a Section 1 offence shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine up to ten thousand galleons and will be kept in the custody of the Department of Marriage until a Section 6 claim is made on her.
(2) A person guilty of a Section 3 offence shall be liable for conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
5. Acceptability of wizards
(1) The Department of Marriage, established in Part 2 of this Act, will provide every wizard with a status rating to indicate his acceptability as a match to a witch. The status rating will incorporate two elements into it, namely –
(a) Blood rating
(b) Desirability rating
(2) The purpose of the Blood rating is to minimise the probability of squib births, and will be done as follows –
(a) A Muggle-Born witch may marry, or otherwise attach herself, to a Pure-Blood or a Half-Blood wizard of age but no more than seven years older than the witch in question.
(b) A Pure-Blood witch may marry, or otherwise attach herself, to a Muggle-Born or a Half-Blood wizard of age but no more than seven years older than the witch in question.
(c) A Half-Blood witch may marry, or otherwise attach herself, to a Pure-Blood or a Half-Blood wizard of age but no more than seven years older than the witch in question.
(3) The purpose of the Desirability rating is to provide guidance for witches to determine the suitability of a wizard and to prevent an abuse of Section 6 claims. In its discretion to form Desirability ratings, the Department of Marriage will have regard, amongst other matters, to –
(a) Past criminal records of the wizard
(b) Financial stability of the wizard
(c) Future prospects of the wizard
(d) Any relevant contributions to the wizarding world in general
(4) A witch may appeal to the Department of Marriage to marry a wizard that has been deemed unacceptable for her, and in most cases, barring the Blood restriction, be guaranteed the right to fair hearing before the Department of Marriage.
6. Right to claim
(1) A 'Section 6 claim' is the right of wizards with the highest Desirability ratings to claim for the purpose of marriage, or otherwise attachment, any witch guilty of a Section 1 offence.
(2) A Section 6 claim may only be made on a witch who has been served with at least one informal warning and one formal Section 1 liability notice by the Department of Marriage.
(3) The Department of Marriage will resolve all disputes in cases of multiple claimants, and in all cases, a witch has the right to fair hearing before the Department of Marriage.
7. Definition of marriage or otherwise attachment
(1) A witch may marry a wizard and obtain the status of a 'wife' as under the Marriage Act of 1753.
(2) A witch may marry a wizard with multiple hereditary titles and be attached to a specific title, with the status of a 'consort', as was repealed under the Marriage Act of 1753, and is being brought back by the express provisions of this Act.
(3) A witch may be attached to wizards with the highest Desirability ratings, with the status of a 'concubine' as was repealed under the Marriage Act of 1753, and is being brought back by the express provisions of this Act.
Part 2
The Department of Marriage
1. Guiding Principles
(1) Following the Purity Wars of 1980 and 1997, the population of Magical Britain has dropped drastically from 120,105 in 1979 to 65,002 in 1989 to 10,198 in 1999. Expert determination predicts that, with migration, unfavourable demographics and squib births, this number may fall below 2,000 in 2009 and shows that the existence of Magical Britain is at risk unless all witches of child-bearing age give birth.
(2) It is also imperative that maximum number of children born to witches be magical. Squib births are more prevalent in cases of high inter-breeding or when both parents are Muggle-Borns. Therefore, experts have determined that Pureblood witches should be matched with Half-Blood or Muggle-Born wizards, while Muggle-Born witches should be matched with Half-Blood of Pureblood wizards.
(3) It is also noted that old Pureblood titles and estates must be conserved. Therefore, to prevent dilution of titles and estates, the old system of consorts and concubines are being restored.
(4) It is noted without reservation that despite our desperate need, witches should be protected. Therefore, the Marriage Tribunal should be comprised of an entirely independent and impartial group of individuals.
2. The Department of Marriage
(1) The Department of Marriage will be constituted as part of the Ministry of Magic in the following manner:
(a) The current Senior-Undersecretary and Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will act as co-Directors of the Department of Marriage;
(b) The Department of Marriage will have three sub divisions – the Marriage Registry, the Ratings Division and the Marriage Tribunal;
(c) The Marriage Registry will keep records of each witch and each wizard in Magical Britain showing, among other things, their age, titles, spouses and any Section 6 Claims made or being subject to;
(d) The Ratings Division will produce a system of ratings in line with the objectives set out in the Guiding Principles to determine whether a wizard is desirable and also to put a cap on the number of Section 6 Claims a wizard may make; and
(e) The co-Directors of the Department of Marriage may appoint the personnel operating the Marriage Registry and the Ratings Division.
(2) The Marriage Tribunal will comprise as follows:
(a) There will be a pool of five judges, three of which will preside over any hearing;
(b) The decision of the Tribunal will be the majority decision of the three presiding judges, and it will be binding, and it shall have no recourse to further appeal;
(c) The judges may not have any current ties to the Ministry of Magic or the Wizengamot in order to ensure their independence and impartiality;
(d) At least two judges in the pool of five should be witches; and
(e) Any employee of the Ministry of Magic may recommend a judge and the co-Directors will choose the five best suited to the position and the appointments may be challenged in the Wizengamot courts by any member of the public.
3. Review by the Senior-Undersecretary
(1) There will be a review by the Senior-Undersecretary every four years from the date of enactment of this Act as to whether the Guiding Principles are still applicable and there is a need to continue with this Act. If the Senior-Undersecretary deems this Act no longer necessary, then this Act will be dissolved and all previous marriage enactments will be back in place.
(2) All marriages, attachments, punishments and appointments made by this Act will stand with full legal and magical authority regardless of whether the Senior-Undersecretary's review deems this Act itself no longer necessary.