Family
Statutory and custom marriage side by side, with Village Courts
Two parallel systems of marriage: statutory marriage under the Marriage Act 1963 and customary marriage recognised by law, with divorce and family disputes often heard in Village Courts applying custom.
Key rules
- Deadline — Interim protection orders under the Family Protection Act can be made urgently
- Deadline — Custom marriage requires no registration to be valid
Governing law
- Marriage Act 1963 (s. 3)
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1963
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015
- Family Protection Act 2013
In practice
Customary marriage is legally valid without registration, and custom in some areas permits polygyny, so a person's marital status may not be discoverable from any register. This creates real difficulty in succession, maintenance and immigration matters. The Family Protection Act 2013 criminalised domestic violence and created protection orders — a significant reform, given that the previous position relied on general assault provisions. The Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 governs child protection. Because Village Courts handle a very large share of family disputes applying custom, outcomes vary substantially by region, and the interaction between a Village Court order and a National Court order is a recurring problem.