The Law Commission is due to publish its final report on weddings law tomorrow (19th July). In preparation for the report, here’s links to my previous work on the main issues concerning marriage and religion or belief and the Commission’s provisional proposals in their earlier consultation document.
The most detailed guide can be found in my book, Religion and Marriage Law: The Need for Reform. This can be ordered from their website at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/religion-and-marriage-law
A policy briefing for the book can be found at: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/07/01/policy-briefing-recommendations-for-the-reform-of-marriage-law/
A blog post written for the Transforming Society blog run by Bristol University Press that can be read at: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/07/01/why-marriage-law-was-in-need-of-reform-even-before-covid-19/
I also wrote a blog post focusing on reform of the law on validity for Law and Religion UK: https://lawandreligionuk.com/2021/07/12/reform-of-law-on-validity-and-unregistered-religious-marriages/
A further blog post – this time on Canopy Forum, a blog run by the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in the US, focused on the need for reform of the law on cohabitation. It can be read at: https://canopyforum.org/2021/07/28/could-cohabitation-rights-solve-the-issue-of-unregistered-religious-marriages/
If you’d prefer to watch rather than read then had over to YouTube. The webinar and book launch for Religion and Marriage Law: The Need for Reform, hosted by the Ecclesiastical Law Society and moderated by Mark Hill QC, which featured Baroness Hale, Professor Gillian Douglas, Professor Jane Mair and I, can now be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp57nk3w7FQ
I also gave a lecture to the 2021 Ecclesiastical Law Society conference on the topic:
I also gave a seminar on ‘Religion and Marriage Law’ at Raffles University in India. This can be watched at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFH7vvELyjE
Russell Sandberg 