Family
Islanders Divorce Act with custom marriage recognised
Marriage and divorce run on the Islanders Marriage Act and Islanders Divorce Act, both of colonial vintage, alongside fully recognised customary marriage. The Family Protection Act 2014 introduced protection orders.
Key rules
- Deadline — Protection orders under the Family Protection Act may be made ex parte in urgent cases
- Deadline — Fault grounds still apply to divorce under the Islanders Divorce Act
Governing law
- Islanders Divorce Act 1960 (s. 5)
- Islanders Marriage Act 1945
- Family Protection Act 2014
- Affiliation, Separation and Maintenance Act 1971
In practice
Unlike Fiji, Solomon Islands has not moved to no-fault divorce: the Islanders Divorce Act still relies on grounds including adultery, desertion and cruelty, and the statute's age shows in its language and procedure. Customary marriage is valid without registration, and bride-price remains a live legal issue in disputes over the validity of a marriage and in maintenance claims. The Family Protection Act 2014 was the significant modern reform, criminalising domestic violence and creating a protection-order regime accessible in the Magistrates Courts. Law reform proposals to replace the 1960s family statutes have been drafted but not enacted.