CAP. 178]
Marriage Reform
[1981 Ed.
Marriages on
and after
appointed day to
be monogamous.
(Cap. 181)
Status of concubinage not to be acquired on and after appointed day.
Kin tiu (兼妾) marriages not to be entered into.
PART II
Marriages ON AND AFTER APPOINTED DAY
4. Marriages entered into in Hong Kong on or after the appointed day shall imply the voluntary union for life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all others and may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance.
(Amended, 62 of 1979, s. 2)
5. (1) On or after the appointed day, no man may take a concubine and no woman may acquire the status of a concubine.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not affect in any way--
(a) the status or rights of a concubine lawfully taken before
the appointed day; or
(b) the status or rights of a child, whether born before, on or after the appointed day, of a concubine lawfully taken before the appointed day.
6.
(1) On or after the appointed day no person shall contract a kim tiu (兼妾) marriage.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not affect in any way--
(a) the status or rights of a party to a kim tiu (兼妾) marriage
lawfully contracted before the appointed day;
(b) the status or rights of a child, whether born before, on or after the appointed day, of parties to a kim tiu (兼妾) marriage contracted before the appointed day.
Customary marriage.
PART III
CUSTOMARY AND MODERN MARRIAGES
7. (1) For the purposes of this Ordinance, a marriage shall constitute a customary marriage if it was or is celebrated in Hong Kong before the appointed day in accordance with Chinese law and
custom.
(2) A marriage shall be deemed to accord with Chinese law and custom if it was celebrated or is celebrated before the appointed day in Hong Kong in accordance with the traditional Chinese customs accepted at the time of the marriage as appropriate for the celebration of marriage either-
(a) in the part of Hong Kong where the marriage took place;
or
(b) in the place recognized by the family of either party to the
marriage as their family place of origin.
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