It is clear that, although South Africa has a wide range of recognised customs, the rights of all, as set out in our Constitution, must be respected and protected. These developments have long made it possible to affirm that men and women are equal in marriages, whether civil or customary. The law allows customary marriages to be registered and regulates the rights of all parties involved in the marriage during marriage, divorce or dissolution. Registration to ensure legal certainty as to the legal existence of an ordinary marriage must take precedence in policy and legislation. Rural women also need to be made more aware of the requirements for registration, as the legislation provides that either party can register marriage. If a party registers the marriage, the Ministry of the Interior should be able to investigate and determine whether there is indeed a valid marriage contracted for the purposes of registration. We recommend that strict standard operating procedures be adopted and implemented to determine the discretion of Ministry of Interior employees and to provide a clear framework for the results of the investigation. Although the deceased`s first wife remarried to someone else, her marriage to the deceased was not dissolved and was very valid. The fact that they both married other persons does not affect their original marriage, but invalidates the existence of these marriages. In addition, a customary marriage must be registered with the Ministry of Interior within three (3) months of the entire procedure. A marriage certificate serves as written proof of the couple`s marital status. These were the views of the High Court of Appeal of Monyepao against Ledwaba and others. In this case, the deceased had generally married his first wife and then married his second wife without formally divorcing his usual wife.
He died in 2012 without a will over how to manage his estate, leaving an estate of about R3.8 million. You can also send the letter M followed by your identification number (example: M 5001010050080) to 32551. A reply SMS will be sent to your mobile phone to confirm your marital status and wedding date. (R1 by SMS and billed by your operator). In South Africa, the definition of a customary marriage is that which is “negotiated, solemnized or concluded in accordance with one of the indigenous African customary law systems that exist in South Africa”. This does not apply to marriages contracted according to Hindu, Muslim or religious rites. Although there is no limit to the number of habitual marriages a man can enter, no other customary marriages can be contracted unless a court order has been obtained regulating the future matrimonial regime of his marriages. The RCMA recognizes all customary marriages.
This includes marriages that have been deemed invalid under the Black Administration Act. In addition, under the Transkei Marriage Act (TMA), ordinary marriages could coexist with a civil marriage resulting from a community of property, marriages which, if valid under the TMA, would be recognized by the RCMA. In South Africa, a customary marriage is defined as a marriage contracted in accordance with customary law. [1] These marriages are for the purposes of Act 120 of 1998 on the Recognition of Customary Marriages (the Act). [2] In order for a husband to enter into a second customary marriage or another customary marriage, he must apply to the High Court for approval of the contract governing the marital status[7] of his first and subsequent marriages. This serves to protect the matrimonial rights of the spouses. If a marriage is contracted without an order from the High Court, it is still valid, but it is contracted from the community of property. It is very important to remember that not registering the marriage does not consider it invalid. The marriage is legally binding, even if the parties do not register it with the Ministry of the Interior. While marriage registration is important to ensure legal certainty and the protection of women`s rights, prioritizing registration only makes sense if the realities of women`s lives are taken into account to ensure that access to registration is possible and that there are no other obstacles that women have to overcome. Another client also learned after her husband`s death that her civil marriage had never been registered with the Ministry of the Interior.