Family
Marriage and divorce statutes with island-level custom
Marriage under the Marriage Act and divorce under the Matrimonial Proceedings Act, with adoption and maintenance provisions, and substantial influence from island custom and the Falekaupule.
Key rules
- Deadline — Divorce requires proof of a statutory ground before the High Court
- Deadline — Custody and maintenance applications are heard in the Magistrates Court or High Court
Governing law
- Matrimonial Proceedings Act (Cap. 21) (s. 9)
- Marriage ActCap. 20
- Native Lands Act (Cap. 46)succession to land
- Maintenance of Children ActCap. 22
In practice
The matrimonial statutes are of colonial vintage and retain fault-based grounds. Custom exerts strong practical influence, particularly through the Falekaupule and the extended family, and the property consequences of divorce are constrained by the kaitasi structure: matrimonial property in the ordinary sense is limited, because the family land is not the spouses' to divide. Succession to land follows the Native Lands Act and custom rather than a will. Tuvalu has no dedicated family violence statute of the kind enacted in Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands, so protection relies on general criminal provisions and police practice — a gap identified in successive human-rights reviews.