Legitimacy Act 1931

• Enactment Date: 19 May 1931
• Act Number: 13

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Number 13 of 1931

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LEGITIMACY ACT 1931

REVISED

Updated to 28 May 2019

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Legitimacy Act 1931. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including Greyhound Racing Act 2019 (15/2019), enacted 28 May 2019, and all statutory instruments up to and including European Communities (Sheep Identification) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 243 of 2019), made 28 May 2019, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 13 of 1931

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LEGITIMACY ACT 1931

REVISED

Updated to 28 May 2019

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Births and Deaths Registration Acts 1863 to 1996: this Act is one of a group of Acts previously included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Registration of Births Act 1996 (36/1996), s. 7(2)). The provisions of this Act included in the collective citation (s. 1(4) and the schedule) were repealed (5.12.2005) by Civil Registration Act 2004 (3/2004), s. 4 and sch. 2, S.I. No. 764 of 2005, subject to transitional provisions in s. 5.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (32/2013)

• Adoption Act 2010 (21/2010)

• Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (31/2004)

• Civil Registration Act 2004 (3/2004)

• Births and Deaths Registration Acts 1863 to 1996

• Registration of Births Act 1996 (36/1996)

• Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987)

• Courts Act 1971 (36/1971)

• Adoption Act 1952 (25/1952)

All Acts up to and including Greyhound Racing Act 2019 (15/2019), enacted 28 May 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Registration of Births (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 493 of 2002)

• Registration of Births Regulations 1988 (S.I. No. 123 of 1988)

All statutory instruments up to and including European Communities (Sheep Identification) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 243 of 2019), made 28 May 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 13 of 1931.

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LEGITIMACY ACT 1931.

REVISED

Updated to 28 May 2019

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Act Referred to
Courts of Justice Act, 1924	No. 10 of 1924

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Number 13 of 1931.

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LEGITIMACY ACT 1931.

REVISED

Updated to 28 May 2019

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AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. [19th May, 1931.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of Act restricted and confirmed (1.11.2010) by Adoption Act 2010 (21/2010), s. 59(1), S.I. No. 511 of 2010.

Subsequent marriage of birth parents.

59. —(1) Subject to subsection (2)—

(a) the validity of an adoption order in relation to a child born of parents not married to each other and the provisions of this Act in regard to the effects of the order are not affected by the subsequent marriage of the child’s birth parents, and

(b) the Legitimacy Act 1931 does not apply to the child unless the order is set aside.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the child has been adopted by one of his or her birth parents and their subsequent marriage to each other would, apart from that subsection, legitimate the child.

(3) In that case, the Legitimacy Act 1931 applies and the adoption order ceases to be in force.

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Editorial Notes:

E1

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 (8/2002), s. 16 and schedule, part 6 provide for an amendment to Registration of Births Act 1996 (36/1996), s. 1(4), (4A) to allow for a change of surname, where jointly agreed by the parents, of children whose births are being re-registered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Acts 1863 to 1996 or the Legitimacy Act 1931. These subsections remain in force despite repeal of the rest of the 1996 Act. The Registration of Births Regulations 1988 (S.I. No. 123 of 1988) as amended (15.10.2002) by Registration of Births (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 493 of 2002) give further effect to these provisions.

E2

Previous affecting provision: Act previously included in collectively cited Births and Deaths Registration Acts 1863 to 1996 (1.10.1997) by Registration of Births Act 1996 (36/1996), s. 7(2), S.I. No. 45 of 1997; the provisions included in the collective citation (s. 1(4) and the schedule) were repealed (5.12.2005) by Civil Registration Act 2004 (3/2004), s. 4 and sch. 2, S.I. No. 764 of 2005, subject to transitional provisions in s. 5.

E3

Previous affecting provision: application of Act restricted and confirmed (1.01.1953) by Adoption Act 1952 (25/1952), s. 29(1); repealed (1.11.2010) by Adoption Act 2010 (21/2010), s. 7 and sch. 1 part 1, S.I. No. 511 of 2010.

Legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents.

1

1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section where the parents of an illegitimate person marry or have married one another, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the marriage shall, if the father of the illegitimate person was or is at the date of the marriage domiciled in Saorstát Eireann, render that person, if living, legitimate from the commencement of this Act, or from the date of the marriage, whichever is the later.

(2) F1[…]

(3) F2[…]

(4) F3[…]

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Repealed (14.06.1988) by Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987), s. 7(1), commenced as per s. 1(2)(b).

F2

Repealed (14.06.1988) by Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987), s. 32(f), commenced as per s. 1(2)(b).

F3

Repealed (5.12.2005) by Civil Registration Act 2004 (3/2004), s. 4 and sch. 2, S.I. No. 764 of 2005, subject to transitional provisions in s. 5.

Modifications (not altering text):

C2

Application of Act modified (14.06.1988) by Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987) s. 7(2), commenced as per s. 1(2). “this Part” referred to below commenced on 14.06.1988.

Amendment of the Act of 1931

7.— ...

(2) In the case of a person to whom this section relates, the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if for the references in sections 1(1) and 5 of that Act to the commencement of that Act there were substituted a reference to the commencement of this Part.

Editorial Notes:

E4

Previous affecting provision: application of subs. (4) restricted (1.10.1997) by Registration of Births Act 1996 (36/1996) s. 1(6), S.I. No. 45 of 1997, subject to transitional provision in s. 1(7).

Declarations of legitimacy of legitimated persons.

2

2.—(1) A person claiming that he is or that any of his parents or remoter ancestors is or was a legitimated person may, whether he is or is not domiciled in Saorstát Eireann and whether he is or is not a natural-born British subject within the meaning of the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland), 1868, institute proceedings under that Act, and that Act shall apply accordingly.

F4[(1A) A person claiming that a child of his is or was a legitimated person may, whether the child is or is not domiciled in the State and whether the child is or is not a natural-born British subject within the meaning of the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland), 1868, institute proceedings under that Act praying for a decree that the child is the legitimate child of his parents, and that Act shall apply accordingly.

(1B) Proceedings instituted by virtue of this section shall be heard in chambers.]

(2) The Circuit Court shall have and may exercise jurisdiction in proceedings instituted by virtue of this section under the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland), 1868, and section 25 and the provisoes to section 48 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924), shall apply in respect of all such proceedings.

(3) The jurisdiction conferred by this section on the Circuit Court shall be exercised by the Judge of that Court for the time being assigned to the Circuit in...