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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | African Marriages Still at the Crossroads in South Africa |
Author: | Mndaweni, Cedric B. |
Year: | 1990 |
Periodical: | The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa |
Volume: | 23 |
Issue: | 3 |
Period: | November |
Pages: | 361-373 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | customary law land law marriage law Marital Relations and Nuptiality Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights |
Abstract: | The Marriage and Matrimonial Property Law Amendment Act was passed by the legislature of South Africa in 1988 to amend section 22 of the Black Administration Act in a legislative attempt to confront legal problems that arose as a result of legal dualism as it affected marriages entered into by black people. The Black Administration Act consolidated the various laws that had been enacted throughout the country by the various colonial administrations. The law governing civil marriages between black people is quite different from that governing civil marriages of people of other racial groups. South African legislature deemed it necessary to address these differences because black people generally regard civil marriages and customary unions as equally valid. The new Amendment Act retains this dualism. This article considers the formation of the so-called black civil marriage, its patrimonial consequences, and the possibilities of divorce. Notes, ref. |