Family
Colonial-era marriage statutes with custom and a 2014 violence Act
Marriage and divorce run on colonial ordinances with fault-based grounds, alongside recognised customary practice, modernised in one respect by the Te Rau n te Mwenga Act 2014 on family peace.
Key rules
- Deadline — Protection orders under the Family Peace Act may be made urgently
- Deadline — Divorce requires proof of a statutory ground before the court
Governing law
- Native Divorce Ordinance (Cap. 60) (s. 4)
- Marriage OrdinanceCap. 54
- Te Rau n te Mwenga Act 2014Family Peace Act
- Maintenance of Children Ordinance
In practice
The matrimonial legislation is old and retains separate tracks for native and non-native divorce, a colonial distinction that has not been tidied away. Customary marriage practice remains strong, and succession to land follows custom and the Native Lands Ordinance rather than testamentary freedom. The Family Peace Act 2014 was the significant reform, criminalising domestic violence, creating protection orders and removing the requirement of corroboration in sexual offence cases. Enforcement across dispersed atolls with limited police presence remains the practical difficulty, and courts sit on outer islands only periodically.