Family
Three marriage regimes, with judicial discretion over property replacing the old contribution test
Ghana recognises ordinance, customary and Mohammedan marriage. Divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1971 turns on irretrievable breakdown. The Supreme Court in Mensah v Mensah (2012) and Quartson v Quartson (2012) established that marital property is shared on equitable principles without proof of financial contribution.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — High Court and Circuit Court for matrimonial causes; Family Tribunals for children's matters.
Governing law
- Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367) — Sole ground: breakdown beyond reconciliation.
- Intestate Succession Law, PNDC Law 111 (1985) — Statutory shares for spouse and children.
- Children's Act, 1998 (Act 560) — Marriage age 18; best interests standard.
In practice
The Marriages Act 1884-1985 consolidates three regimes: ordinance marriage is monogamous and registered; customary marriage is potentially polygynous and formed under community rules; Mohammedan marriage is registered under Part Three. The Matrimonial Causes Act 1971 (Act 367) applies directly to ordinance marriages and may be applied to the others, and the sole ground is that the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation. The most consequential development is judicial rather than legislative: the Supreme Court moved from requiring proof of substantial contribution to a jurisprudence of equality, holding in Mensah v Mensah that property acquired during marriage is joint property and that a homemaker's non-financial contribution counts, and in Quartson emphasising equity in the particular circumstances. Article 22 of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact a property rights of spouses law, which has still not been passed, so the field remains judge-made. The Children's Act 1998 sets 18 as the minimum marriage age and governs custody by the best interests standard, and intestate succession is governed by PNDC Law 111, which gives the surviving spouse and children defined shares against customary claims.