Marriage Act (234/1929)

Extracts

Chapter 3 — Examination of impediments to marriage
Section 10 (amended by 618/1998)
It shall be for the Register Office to examine that there are no statutory impediments to marriage (examination of impediments to marriage). The examination of impediments to marriage may also be carried out by a parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church or the Greek Orthodox Church, if the engaged persons belong, or one of them belongs, to the parish.

Chapter 4 — Marriage ceremony
Section 14 (amended by 411/1987 and 417/1993)
(1) A marriage ceremony shall be performed in the presence of relatives or other witnesses either as a religious or a civil ceremony.
(2) A religious ceremony may be performed in an Evangelical Lutheran church or in a Greek Orthodox church or in another religious community to which the Ministry of Education has granted a license to perform marriage ceremonies.
(3) Provisions on the registration of licenses to perform marriage ceremonies shall be issued by Decree.

Section 15 (amended by 411/1987)
The engaged persons shall be simultaneously present at the marriage ceremony. After both engaged persons have given the officiator of the ceremony an affirmative answer to the question whether he or she wants to marry the other, the officiator shall pronounce them husband and wife.

Section 16 (amended by 411/1987)
(1) In addition to the provisions in section 15, the other conditions and forms of a religious marriage ceremony shall be laid down by the religious community in question.
(2) Provisions on a civil marriage ceremony shall be issued by Decree.

Section 17 (amended by 411/1987 and 1428/1992)
(1) A religious marriage ceremony may be performed by :
1. in the Evangelical Lutheran church by a priest ;
2. in the Greek Orthodox church by a priest ; and
3. in another religious community by a person who, under the rules of the community, has the right to perform marriage ceremonies.
(2) A civil marriage ceremony shall be performed by :
1. the Chief Judge of a District Court, a District Judge, and
2. a District Registrar.

(Source : finlex.fi)