The DHA has released its most recent annual performance plan for 2023–2024, outlining the department’s goals for the period. By the end of June of this year, the draft laws should be approved for submission to the minister, and by the end of the year, various committees and clusters should have made their suggestions. The department hopes to present the draft bill to Parliament by March 2024 with the requisite cabinet approval.
The proposed legislation aims to fix a significant issue with South Africa’s existing marriage rules. Notwithstanding all of the modifications made to South Africa’s marriage laws since 1994, according to the department, there are still significant gaps that require attention.
For instance, some religious unions are not governed by the law, including Hindu, Muslim, and other customary unions used in some African or royal families. The DHA started a process in 2021 to create a “umbrella” marriage policy, which will give the nation new single legislation, to address this.
According to the DHA, the new Marriage Act would make it possible for South Africans of various sexual orientations, religious beliefs, and cultural backgrounds to consummate legally recognised unions that adhere to the Constitution’s tenets of equality, nondiscrimination, and human dignity. Some of the most notable changes that were mooted under the green paper include:
- The new Marriage Act will enable South Africans of different sexual orientations, religious and cultural persuasions to conclude legal marriages;
- The introduction of strict rules around the age of marriage (including the alignment of the age of majority in the marriage legislation to the Children’s Act);
- It will align the marriage, marital property and divorce legislation to address marital property and intestate succession matters in the event of the marriage dissolution;
- It will allow for equitable treatment and respect for religious and customary beliefs in line with Section 15 of the Constitution.
- It will deal with the solemnisation and registration of marriages that involve foreign nationals;
- It will deal with the solemnisation and registration of customary marriages that involve non-citizens, especially cross-border communities or citizens of our neighbouring countries. businesstech