The Department of Home Affairs has officially resumed a wider variety of services, now that the country is back at Level 1 lockdown.

On Thursday, March 4 the Department began allowing South Africans to apply for and collect their passports, as well as register their marriages among other services. This comes after marriage services were temporarily suspended on January 12.

Residents are encouraged to comment on a new discussion paper on the possible adoption of a single marriage statute for South Africa.

Current South African law around marriage is fragmented due to the multitude of religions and cultures recognised under the Constitution, each with its own rules around marriage. Beyond this, there are separate pieces of legislation for same-sex civil unions and opposite-sex marriages.

The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) drafted two bills as alternative options to unify laws under a single piece of legislation based on the Constitution. The first option is the ‘Protected Relationships Bill’. The second option is the ‘Recognition and Registration of Marriages and Life Partnerships Bill’.

The Bills seek to:

– provide for the recognition of protected relationships or of marriages and life partnerships, entered into by parties regardless of the religious, cultural or any other beliefs of the parties, or the manner in which the relationship was entered into

– provide for the requirements for entering into a protected relationship or a marriage or a life partnership

– provide for the registration of protected relationships or marriages and life partnerships

– provide for the legal consequences of entering into protected relationships or marriages and life partnerships

– provide for matters incidental thereto.

There are a number of proposals that fall underneath the Protection Relationships Bill, including a shift in the definition of a monogamous protected relationship. Under this bill,  a ‘‘monogamous marriage or life partnership’ means the relationship of two people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, to the exclusion of all others, unless dissolved by divorce or death of one or both parties

The Protected Relationships Bill refers to a ‘protected relationship’ as

– any subsisting marriage concluded in terms of the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961) or any old order marriage legislation or any other prior legislation before the commencement of this Act

– any subsisting marriage or union concluded in terms of the Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No. 17 of 2006) before the commencement of this Act

– and any subsisting customary marriage concluded in terms of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998)

– any subsisting monogamous or polygynous marriage or relationship concluded or entered into in terms of the tenets of any religion or culture before or after the commencement of this Act

– any life partnership, where the parties cohabit and have assumed permanent responsibility for supporting each other

In terms of option two in the Recognition and Registration of Marriages and Life Partnerships Bill ‘marriage or life partnership’ means

– any subsisting marriage concluded in terms of the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961), old order marriage legislation or any other prior legislation before the commencement of this Act;

– any subsisting union or marriage concluded in terms of the Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No. 17 of 2006) before the commencement of this Act;

– any subsisting customary marriage concluded in terms of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998;

– any subsisting monogamous or polygynous marriage or relationship concluded or entered into in terms of the tenets of any religion or culture before or after the commencement of this Act;

– any life partnership, where the parties cohabit and have assumed permanent responsibility for supporting each other.

The minimum age to enter into a protected relationship or marriage or life partnership is 18 years, without exception.

Respondents are requested to submit written comment, representations or submissions to the Commission by 31 March 2021 for the attention of Pierre van Wyk to the following address: The Secretary South African Law Reform Commission Private Bag X668 Pretoria 0001 E-mail: [email protected]

Read the full proposal here: dp152-prj144-SingleMarriageStatute-Jan2021

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Choosing to change your surname after marriage is a personal choice every person must make for themselves. When making this decision, remember that it is not as easy as 1, 2, 3, but can be a long and rather tedious process.

If you do decide to change your surname, you will legally be required to update all the necessary paperwork to reflect your new name.

Legally, any woman wanting to take their spouse’s surname, revert to their maiden name or prior name, or join two surnames into a double-barrelled name may do so. However, because current South African law focuses on women changing their surnames, the process for men who decide to take their partner’s surname is much harder, and requires special authorisation from The Department of Home Affairs.

The first step in legally changing your surname is applying for a new identity document. You can easily apply to have your ID re-issued if you are married and want to assume the surname of your spouse. You can apply for a replacement by:

– Completing Form BI-9 as well if you have not previously submitted your fingerprints

– Attaching additional documents as required (e.g. a marriage certificate if you are married)

– Paying the required fee for the re-issue

It is not essential to change your driver’s licence and passport to reflect your new surname until they expire, but in this case, you will be required to carry a certified copy of your marriage certificate in case anything happens.

Remember to also inform SARS of your surname change to update your tax details. In line with this, inform your employer of your new surname change so that they may update your pension and insurance companies.

Another crucial step is to notify your chosen bank to ensure you can still use all of your bank cards. You will need a copy of your ID and a copy of your marriage certificate for this.

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The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) is considering introducing a single marriage statute for the country. In a discussion paper, two alternative draft bills are being proposed to recognise relationships and marriages by parties, regardless of their unique backgrounds.

The two bills are:

– The Protected Relationships Bill; and

– The Recognition and Registration of Marriages and Life Partnerships Bill.

“The Bills seek to provide for the recognition of protected relationships or of marriages and life partnerships, entered into by parties regardless of the religious, cultural or any other beliefs of the parties, or the manner in which the relationship was entered into; to provide for the requirements for entering into a protected relationship or a marriage or a life partnership; to provide for the registration of protected relationships or marriages and life partnerships; to provide for the legal consequences of entering into protected relationships or marriages and life partnerships; and to provide for matters incidental thereto,” explains the SALRC.

The draft bill addresses issues like the age of marriage parties, the role of marriage officers, and regulations for polygynous marriages among others.  Under this new proposed Marriage Act, all South Africans will be able to conclude legal marriages regardless of their different sexual orientation, religious and cultural persuasions. It also focuses on equity within relationships.

Here are some of the key proposed changes:

– The validity requirements for a protected relationship, a marriage or a life partnership are that all the parties must be at least 18 years on the date of entering into the relationship; that the parties must give free and informed consent; and must have the capacity to enter into the relationship. If the parties do not comply with the requirements the relationship is void.

–  If a male party to a subsisting polygynous protected relationship or to a subsisting marriage or life partnership, wishes to enter into a further relationship, he must obtain consent from the wife or wives to enter into a further relationship. If he enters into a further relationship without the consent of all his wives that further relationship entered into will be void. The registering officer must enquire into the existence of such consent having been sought and granted when the further relationship is registered. Where consent for a party entering into a relationship is lacking due to a failure to comply with the proposed legislation, the court must be empowered to make a just property division order about the relationship property of the parties to the relationship.

– Every person in a protected relationship or a marriage or life partnership must have the capacity to understand the legal consequences of the relationship at the time it was entered into. All parties in a protected relationship or a marriage or life partnership have equal status and capacity.

–  A court may order the registration of any protected relationship or any marriage or life partnership; or the cancellation or rectification of any registration of a protected relationship or marriage or life partnership. A certificate of registration of a protected relationship or marriage or life partnership issued in terms of the legislation constitutes prima facie proof of the existence of 5 the protected relationship or marriage or life partnership and of the particulars contained in the certificate.

–  It is possible to prove the existence of a life partnership other than by proof of registration. As regards addressing sham or bogus marriages, the continued involvement of marriage officers who will verify the identification documentation of prospective partners and who will conduct interviews with the parties can play a role in determining whether the relationship is genuine. Registering officers of the DHA will also be able to scrutinise and verify the particulars of the parties when they consider applications for the registration of relationships at DHA registering offices.

The draft proposal is open for public comment until March 31, 2021. Read the full proposal HERE.

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Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi suspended a number of services, including the solemnisation and registration of marriages until further notice. This comes as South Africa continues its second round of lockdown Level 3, as well as a second wave of COVID-19 infections worse than the first.

In a statement on Tuesday [January 12], the Minister explained that Home Affairs will now only offer priority services, as the crowds that gather daily outside the offices are a massive concern.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of a woman seeking continued maintenance from her ex-husband, who stopped giving her money as she had “remarried”.

The drama began when the woman, who is a devout Christian, posted on Facebook that she had remarried. This prompted her ex-husband to stop paying her a R10 000 monthly maintenance fee as he felt he was no longer obligated to support her if she has a new husband.

According to the woman, however, she had not legally remarried but rather had a ceremony with her partner that she referred to as her ‘husband’ in order to receive God’s blessing on her new relationship, as she wanted to legitimise their ‘sinful’ relationship. The pair never signed a wedding register or had their union officially registered with the Department of Home Affairs, making it an illegitimate marriage.

Since then, the woman has split from her partner, and she has come to an agreement with her ex-husband to continue the monthly maintenance payments until she remarries or dies. However, a new clause was added that he would not have to be responsible for maintenance if she cohabitates with another man in a common law marriage, reports the Pretoria News.

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India’s governing party has approved legislation to criminalise interfaith marriages in which one partner forces the other to convert to their religion. The legislation was passed on Tuesday [November 24] and applies to the state of Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state.

This controversial move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign against interfaith marriages.

India, a predominantly Hindu country, has a 14% Muslim minority. Some Hindu far-right groups consider interfaith marriages as “love jihad”, and accuse Muslim men of marrying Hindu women specifically to convert them.

Under the new legislation, anyone found guilty of using marriage to force someone to convert to another religion may face a prison sentence of up to 10 years. According to Uttar Pradesh government minister Siddharth Nath Singh, criminalising this act will stop unlawful conversions and bring women justice.

Couples of two different religions will be required to give two months’ notice to a district magistrate before tying the knot. They will be given the go-ahead to marry if the official has no objections. Once the Uttar Pradesh state governor has approved the decree, it will be made law.

The new decree has received sharp criticism.

Menaka Guruswamy, a senior lawyer in India said the law “seems to violate constitutional values of equality, non-discrimination, dignity, and very basic ethos that courts have always recognised, that adults can make their own free choice. All men and women should question this idea of their adulthood being questioned and their free will being second-guessed by the state.”

“The effect of the law is to tighten the grip of religion over individual liberty and choice,” added senior lawyer and human rights activist Vrinda Grover. “It is yet another means to control women’s sexuality, agency, and right to choice. It also infantilises women and portrays them as gullible fools, incapable of making decisions about their life.”

India has been gripped by controversy related to interfaith relationships for the last few weeks. Prime Minister Modi’s party registered a court case against two Netflix executives for their film ‘A Suitable Boy’, which they argue contains content that allegedly offends the religious sentiments of Hindus. The key scene they oppose is one in which a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy kiss against what appears to be a backdrop of a Hindu temple. Many Indians called for the series to be removed and for people to boycott Netflix.

In October, jewellery brand Tanishq came under fire for their advertisement which featured a Hindu-Muslim family celebrating a baby shower. They were forced to withdraw the ad from TV and all social media channels.

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