A Study On Marriage System Of South Africa

The history of law is a period of history of variance and development as far asessence is concerned, the older and characteristic legal culture of South Africa hasbeen developing in its lengthy process under the continue rush of extra-religious lawand western law, so also is the history of marriage in South Africa, and finallyconstitute a legal structure of co-existence of traditional customary law and modernstatue law, Common law and Roma-Holland law.The diversity of marriage law in South Africa mainly embodies the difference ofthe form of marriage. With the subsequent adoption of Recognition of CustomaryMarriage Act120of1998and Civil Union Act17of2006, the legal marriage systemtakes on diverse traits, namely co-existence of Civil Marriage, Civil Union andCustomary Marriage in South Africa. In addition, there are unadmitted marriageforms in Common Law, mostly religious marriage, for example, Christian Marriage,Indian Marriage and Islamic Marriage. The marriages of different kinds constitute thesystem of marriage law of South Africa. Nowadays, people in South Africa canconclude distinct variety of marriages at willing as long as they comply with legalrequirements, and their rights aren’t different because of distinction of marriage form,law gives them equal protection.The divorce system similarly incarnates the feature of marriage law of SouthAfrican, the provision of legal grounds of divorce in Divorce Act70of1979and theestablishment of Family Advocate in Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Act24of1987represent that legislative constitution emphasize the interest of women andminors. Moreover, as the particular system of South Africa, it is significant eventhough “Legal Separation” had been repealed in South Africa, especially in modernsociety with high-rate divorce.Marriages in Community of Property, as the legal property system of SouthAfrican marriage law, unless parties obviously exclude it by an ante-nuptial,automatically apply to the proprietary consequences that marriage brings to, and asconsensus between husband and wife, an ante-nuptial contract directly decides whichproperty system that applies to your marriage, and shows the respect and protection toparty autonomy that South Africa’s law confers.The muti-legal system and diversity of South Africa’s marriage law provide enough protection for South African citizen’s rights, at the same time, inevitably leadthe disunity of marriage system, and finally restrict the appliance of marriage law.Therefore, the reform of marriage law in South Africa must be coming, and the unionof marriage law will be prospective development direction.