Tonga

128. Abduction of women. 

Any person who shall by force take away or detain any woman of any age with intent to marry or carnally know her or to cause her to be married or carnally known by any other person shall on conviction thereof be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding 7 years. 

Tonga Criminal Offences Act-English-PDF. 

2 Interpretation 

“exploitation” includes all forms of sexual exploitation (including sexual servitude and exploitation of another person’s prostitution), forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude and the removal of internal organs; 

“trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person for the purpose of exploitation; 

 24 Offence of trafficking in persons 

Any person engaged in trafficking in persons commits an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years. 

 25 Offence of trafficking in children 

Any person engaged in trafficking a child commits an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 years. 

 26 Consent not a defence 

It is not a defence for offences under sections 24 and 25 that the – 

(a) trafficked person consented; or 

(b) intended exploitation did not occur. 

Tonga Transnational Crimes Act 2007-English-PDF.

False declaration, etc. to procure certificates, etc., of  marriage . 

Disabilities 

6. No person who is insane, or who is under the age of 15 years, or who being under the age of 18 years has not obtained the written consent of his or her guardian, shall be granted a  marriage licence.

 Penalty for making a false oath 

11. Any one who shall make a false oath to obtain a licence to marry shall on conviction thereof be liable to imprisonment for 3 years and the Supreme Court may if it considers proper to do so declare the  marriage null and void.

 Validation of  marriage  prior to 1st October, 1926. 

17. Every  marriage solemnized in Tonga before the first day October 1926 by any minister of religion or person ordinarily officiating as such shall be deemed to have been from the time of solemnization a legal and binding  marriage notwithstanding any non compliance with any forms or other matters: 

Provided that nothing herein contained shall legalize any  marriage  which shall be declared invalid by the Supreme Court or any  marriage  where either party thereto had another wife or husband living or any  marriage  which would have been or would be void by reason of any relationship or of fraud or of incapacity to marry or any  marriage  where (the same being at the time of its solemnization invalid) either of the parties thereto shall afterward and before the first day of October 1926 have intermarried with any person. 

 21. If any person-

(a) For the purpose of procuring a  marriage  or a  marriage  licence or certificate knowingly and wilfully makes or signs a false declaration notice or certificate required under any Act, ordinance or regulation for the time being in force relating to  marriage ; or 

(b) knowingly and wilfully makes or knowingly or wilfully causes to be made for the purpose of being inserted in any  marriage  licence or register a false statement as to any particular required by law to be known or registered relating to any  marriage , or 

(c) forbids the issue of any certificate or  marriage  licence by falsely representing himself to be a person whose consent to the  marriage  is required by law knowing the representation to be false, 

he shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction thereof shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding $100 or to both such fine and imprisonment. 

 Section 5 – Solemnization of  Marriage  Regulations 

2. Applications for a licence to marry

(1). The affidavit required by the  Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration  Act as amended (hereinafter called “the Act”) shall have exhibited to it the following documents- 

(a). The birth certificates of both applicants. If an applicant cannot produce his or her birth certificate then, unless the Sub-Registrar hearing the application is satisfied beyond any doubt by the appearance of the applicant that he or she is over 18, he or she shall file an affidavit by a person who has personal knowledge of when the applicant was born and that person shall state his means of knowledge. 

(b). An applicant who is over 15 but under 18 years of age must exhibit the written consent of his parents or guardian. If his parents are divorced or separated the consent shall be that of the parent who has custody of him, where there is no custody order and the parents disagree the Sub- Registrar shall decide which parents shall be entitled to give or refuse consent. 

(c). When it is requested that the  marriage  should be solemnized by a Minister of Religion other than the Minister whose name appears on the book of certificates held in the building where the applicants wish to be married, the written consent of the Minister whose name appears on the book. 

(2). The Sub-Registrar to whom the application is made shall- 

(a). tell both applicants that it is a serious offence to make a false statement to obtain a  marriage  licence; 

(b). satisfy himself that at least one of the applicants has resided in the Sub-Registry District for the previous 6 months. Absences totaling less than one month may be disregarded; 

(c). ask each of them in turn whether he or she has been previously married; 

(d). ask each in turn whether they are related; 

(e). if the answer to either question (c) or (d) is affirmative, the Sub-Registrar shall make such further enquiries as he thinks necessary to satisfy himself that the parties are in fact free to marry each other. 

If he is not satisfied he shall refuse to issue a licence and shall inform the applicants that they may, if they wish, appeal to the Registrar General; 

(f). where one of the applicants has been previously married and that  marriage  has been dissolved outside the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Tonga, the Sub-Registrar shall refer the matter to the Registrar General before issuing a licence; 

(g). once the Sub-Registrar is satisfied that the applicants are free to marry each other, he shall administer the Oath to them and ask each of them to say “Everything in this my affidavit is true”. He shall then ask each applicant to sign the affidavit and shall witness their signatures; 

(h). the affidavit shall be in the form prescribed in the Schedule to the  Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act ; 

(i). the Sub-Registrar shall then ask the applicants the name of the Minister of Religion by whom they intend to be married, shall confirm that the name appears in the Register of Ministers and shall, subject to rule 2(1)(c), issue a licence to that Minister to solemnize their  marriage  at a building where a book of licenses is held within a period of not more than 28 days, from the date of issue of the licence. 

(j). the Sub-Registrar shall retain a copy of the licence in his registry; 

(k). a Sub-Registrar shall not issue a licence to a Minister of Religion to solemnize a  marriage  in a church that is not in the Sub-Registry area. 

(3) 

(a). If a person wishes to marry outside the area of the Sub-Registry in which he has resided for the 6 months necessary to establish his residential qualification as required by the Act, or in a building other than a building where a book of licences is held he must apply to the Registrar General for a special licence. 

(b). The application must be accompanied by — 

(i). the statutory affidavit; 

(ii). the exhibits required by these rules; 

(iii). a statement of the reasons for the application; 

(iv). an identification of the building and Minister of Religion where and by whom the  marriage  is to be solemnized. 

(c). The Registrar General may attach such conditions to the Special Licence as he thinks desirable.