Family
Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act 2015 with a uniform age of 18
The Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act 4 of 2015 consolidated the marriage regimes — civil, customary, religious and by repute — and set 18 as the minimum age, reinforced by a 2017 constitutional amendment removing the parental-consent exception. It also recognised marriage by repute and permanent cohabitation.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The High Court and magistrates' courts hear divorce; traditional courts handle customary matters.
Governing law
- Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act 4 of 2015
- Constitution s 22 (as amended 2017) — minimum marriage age 18
- Child Care, Protection and Justice Act 22 of 2010
In practice
Recognising marriage by repute and permanent cohabitation was a substantial extension of protection, because it gives a party to a long unregistered union standing to claim property and maintenance that customary practice would often have denied.