New Zealand Acts

CRIMES ACT 1961 - SECT 205

205 Bigamy defined

1 Bigamy is—

a) the act of a person who, being married, goes through a form of marriage or civil union in New Zealand with a third person; or

b) the act of a person who goes through a form of marriage in New Zealand with any other person whom he or she knows to be married or in a civil union; or

c) the act of a New Zealand citizen, or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, who, being married or in a civil union, goes through a form of marriage with a third person anywhere outside New Zealand; or

d) the act of a New Zealand citizen, or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, who goes through a form of marriage anywhere outside New Zealand with any other person whom he or she knows to be married or in a civil union; or

e) the act of a person who, being in a civil union, goes through a form of civil union or marriage with a third person; or

f) the act of a person who goes through a form of civil union with a person whom he or she knows to be in a civil union or to be married.

2 For the purposes of this section,—

a) a form of marriage is any form of marriage recognised by the law of New Zealand, or by the law of the place where it is solemnised, as a valid form of marriage:

b) a form of civil union is any form of civil union recognised under the Civil Union Act 2004 as a valid form of civil union under that Act:

c) no form of marriage or civil union may be held to be an invalid form of marriage or civil union by reason of any act or omission of the person charged with bigamy, if it is otherwise a valid form.

3 It shall not be a defence to a charge of bigamy to prove that if the parties were unmarried or not in a civil union they would have been incompetent to contract marriage or enter into a civil union.

4 No person commits bigamy by going through a form of marriage or entering into a civil union if that person—

a) has been continuously absent from his or her spouse or civil union partner (as the case may be) for 7 years then last past; and

b) is not proved to have known that his or her spouse or civil union partner (as the case may be) was alive at any time during those 7 years.

Note: 1908 No 32 s 224

History: Section 205(1)(a): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(1)(a) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).   Section 205(1)(b): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(1)(b) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(1)(c): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(1)(c) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(1)(d): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(1)(d) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(1)(e): inserted, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(2) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(1)(f): inserted, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(2) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(2)(b): replaced, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(3) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(2)(c): inserted, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(3) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(3): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(4) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(4): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(5)(a) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(4)(a): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(5)(b) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).     Section 205(4)(b): amended, on 26 April 2005, by section 41(5)(b) of the Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102).