Family Law

Hanafi fiqh applied directly, with severe restrictions on women

The 1977 Civil Code chapters on marriage and divorce remain nominally in force but are applied through Hanafi jurisprudence. The 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women law is no longer enforced and its dedicated courts were closed.

Marriage requires the bride's guardian in practice regardless of the Civil Code's minimum-age provisions, and the specialised prosecution units for violence against women were dissolved. Divorce is far easier for a husband (talaq) than for a wife, who must show statutory grounds before a judge. Women's access to court without a male representative is heavily restricted.

The Family Code with joint parental responsibility and mediation

The 2003 Family Code governs marriage, parental responsibility and maintenance, with divorce by mutual consent or on the breakdown of the marriage. Mediation is required in certain family disputes.

Only civil marriage has legal effect, and religious ceremonies must be preceded by civil registration.

The 1984 Family Code, amended in 2005 but retaining the marital guardian

The Family Code of 1984 codifies Islamic personal status. The 2005 amendments required judicial authorisation for polygamy and improved the wife's position, but retained the wali for a woman's marriage.

The 2005 reform is genuinely partial and should be described as such. It required a judge to authorise a polygamous marriage and to hear the existing and intended wives, gave the wife a right to khul divorce without the husband's consent, and required provision of housing for children after divorce. It did not abolish the wali, the male marital guardian whose presence is required for a woman's marriage contract regardless of her age, although the 2005 text allows her to choose him. Inheritance follows Quranic shares. Custody ordinarily goes to the mother for young children with guardianship remaining paternal, the same split found across the region. The 1984 Code was contested from enactment and the reform debate continues.

Qualified marriage law with civil union equality since 2023

Marriage and divorce are regulated by qualified legislation, with both civil and canonical marriage recognised. The Civil Union Act in force since 2023 places same-sex couples on the same footing as married couples.

Andorra only introduced full civil divorce with the constitutional era, so older matrimonial files can turn on canonical nullity rather than divorce.

Código da Família 1988 with recognised de facto unions and equal spousal capacity

The Código da Família (Lei 1/88) governs marriage, filiation and succession, and was progressive for its time in recognising the união de facto — a de facto union — as producing legal effects after three years. Marriage is monogamous and both spouses have equal capacity. The 2020 Penal Code decriminalised same-sex conduct.

Recognition of the união de facto matters demographically: a large share of Angolan couples never register a marriage, and the three-year rule gives them succession and property claims that would otherwise depend entirely on proof of a customary union.

Divorce Act with maintenance in the Magistrate's Court

Divorce is governed by the Divorce Act on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, established by separation or by conduct. The Status of Children Act equalises the position of children born outside marriage, and the Child Justice Act and Care and Protection legislation deal with children at risk. Maintenance and domestic violence protection orders are obtained in the Magistrate's Court.

As across the Eastern Caribbean, property adjustment turns on beneficial ownership and contribution rather than a broad statutory power to redistribute, so evidence of who funded the acquisition of the matrimonial home is decisive. Consensual unions carry no matrimonial property consequences, and a long-term partner without a registered interest may leave the relationship with nothing.

Egalitarian marriage since 2010 and no-fault divorce since 2015

Argentina legalised same-sex marriage in 2010 under Ley 26.618, the first country in Latin America to do so. The 2015 Código Civil y Comercial abolished fault-based divorce entirely: either spouse may petition unilaterally with no waiting period and no need to allege grounds. Parental responsibility is shared by default, and the Code introduced compensatory economic allowances on divorce.

The removal of fault grounds was a deliberate policy choice to take moral adjudication out of divorce; the court's role is limited to resolving the consequences through a proposed settlement covering property, housing and children. Ley 26.743 on gender identity permits a change of registered sex and name by administrative declaration, without judicial authorisation or medical certification.

The Family Code of 2004 with civil registration through ZAGS

The Family Code governs marriage, divorce, parental rights and adoption. Only civil marriage registered with the civil status registry produces legal effects; religious ceremonies have no independent legal consequence.

Marriage requires both parties to be 18, with limited exceptions from 16 with consent. Divorce is available administratively where both spouses consent and there are no minor children or property disputes; otherwise it goes to court. Property acquired during marriage is community property by default and divided equally on divorce, subject to contrary agreement. The 2017 domestic violence law introduced emergency protection orders and a system of preventive registration, and was a notable legislative step given earlier resistance. Child maintenance is calculated as a share of the payer's income.

Family Law Act 1975 no-fault divorce in a unified federal court

A unified federal jurisdiction under the Family Law Act 1975, which introduced no-fault divorce. Since 2021 the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia hears almost all family matters, and 2024 amendments removed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility.

Divorce is no-fault: the only ground is irretrievable breakdown, evidenced by 12 months' separation, and the court does not inquire into conduct. Parenting decisions turn on the best interests of the child under s. 60CC. The Family Law Amendment Act 2023, in force from May 2024, repealed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility and the associated requirement to consider equal or substantial time, because the presumption had been widely misread as a starting entitlement to equal time. De facto partners, including same-sex partners, have substantially the same property and maintenance rights as married spouses. Family dispute resolution is normally a precondition to filing a parenting application.

Same-sex marriage since 2019, with divorce by fault or mutual consent

Marriage has been open to same-sex couples since 1 January 2019, and both marriage and the registered partnership are now available to all couples. Divorce can be pursued on fault grounds or, most commonly, as an amicable divorce by mutual consent under §55a of the Marriage Act after at least six months of separation.

The amicable route is far more common and faster, but the court will still scrutinise arrangements for any children. Fault matters mainly for maintenance, so contested divorces often centre on who caused the breakdown.

The Family Code of 1999 and mandatory civil registration

The Family Code governs marriage, divorce and parental responsibility. Only marriage registered with the state registry has legal effect; a religious ceremony conducted without prior civil registration carries no legal consequence and is an administrative offence for the officiant.

The minimum marriage age is 18 for both parties, raised from 17 for women in 2011 to address early marriage. A medical examination certificate is required before registration. Divorce by mutual consent without minor children proceeds administratively; otherwise a court decides, and may order a reconciliation period. Property acquired during the marriage is joint and divided equally in principle. Child maintenance is set as a proportion of income. The 2010 domestic violence law provides for short-term and long-term protection orders issued by the police and courts respectively.

A unified family law covering both Sunni and Shia Bahrainis

Law 19 of 2017 unified personal status into a single code applying to both Sunni and Shia Muslims, replacing separate uncodified religious practice.

The 2017 unification was hard-won and significant: family law had previously been applied by Sunni and Ja'fari judges from their respective uncodified fiqh, producing inconsistent outcomes and no reliable way for a litigant to know the applicable rule. The unified code sets marriage age at sixteen for both sexes, requires registration, and codifies maintenance and custody. The Sunni and Ja'fari chambers remain, but both now apply the same enacted text, which makes Bahrain the Gulf state that went furthest toward a single family law. Inheritance still follows the parties' school.

Religion determines which personal law applies

Muslims, Hindus and Christians are each governed by their own family law. Muslim marriage and divorce follow the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961; Hindu law has no statutory divorce.

A Muslim husband's talaq must be notified to the Union Parishad chairman and takes effect after ninety days of attempted reconciliation; polygamy requires the existing wife's consent through an arbitration council. Hindu women cannot obtain a divorce under Bangladeshi Hindu law, an acknowledged reform gap. Custody follows welfare of the child but with strong presumptions by age and sex. Inter-religious couples generally use the Special Marriage Act.

Family Law Act with union other than marriage recognised

The Family Law Act, Cap. 214 governs divorce, property adjustment and maintenance, and expressly extends property and maintenance rights to a union other than marriage, meaning a cohabiting couple who have lived together for at least five years. Divorce is granted on irretrievable breakdown evidenced by twelve months' separation. Children's matters apply a welfare-first approach under the Minors Act and the Child Care Board Act.

Barbados was early in the region in giving cohabitants substantive property rights rather than leaving them to trusts and equitable claims, which makes the five-year qualifying period a decisive fact to establish. The twelve-month post-decree window for financial applications is strict, and leave to apply out of time is not readily given.

The 1999 Marriage and Family Code with registry divorce

The Code on Marriage and Family of 1999 governs marriage, parentage and guardianship. Divorce is granted by the court, though a simplified route exists where the spouses agree, and a three-month reconciliation period is normally imposed.

Decree No. 18 allows administrative removal of children and compulsory employment of parents to recover state maintenance costs, which has no analogue elsewhere in the region.

No-fault divorce on irretrievable breakdown, in a single family tribunal

The reform of 27 April 2007 removed fault as a ground for divorce and replaced it with irretrievable breakdown (désunion irrémédiable / duurzame ontwrichting) under Article 229 of the Civil Code. Since 1 September 2014 a single family and juvenile tribunal inside each tribunal of first instance handles the whole family file rather than splitting it across courts.

Files concerning a couple stay with the same chamber, so later disputes about maintenance or contact return to the judge who already knows the case. Urgent measures on residence and provisional maintenance can be obtained quickly, and family mediation is actively encouraged before contested hearings.

Common-law family statutes with a Family Court

Family matters are governed by statute against a common-law background, principally the Married Persons (Protection) Act, the Families and Children Act and the Supreme Court's matrimonial jurisdiction. A dedicated Family Court sits in Belize City for maintenance and protection matters.

The Family Court handles maintenance and domestic violence applications without the need for counsel and is the practical entry point for most claimants. Supreme Court divorce petitions require a lawyer and take considerably longer.

Code des personnes et de la famille 2004, which abolished polygamy prospectively

Loi n° 2002-07, in force 2004, replaced customary family law with a single code. It abolished polygamy for marriages contracted after entry into force, set the marriage age at 18 for both sexes, and equalised inheritance between sons and daughters — reversing customary rules that excluded women.

The 2004 Code is one of the more decisive family-law reforms in the region because it did not attempt to codify custom alongside statute — it displaced it. Polygamous marriages predating 2004 remain valid, so two regimes coexist by cohort rather than by community, and practitioners must establish the date of marriage before advising on succession.

Marriage Act codifies Buddhist practice into statute

The Marriage Act 1980 governs marriage, divorce and custody for all citizens without splitting by religion. Registration of marriage is required and unregistered unions have limited legal effect.

Divorce is available on grounds including adultery, desertion and mutual consent, with compensation payable by a spouse at fault. Marriage between a Bhutanese citizen and a foreign national requires official permission and affects the foreign spouse's employment and land rights, not merely their visa. Custody is decided on the child's welfare, and the 2013 Act created protection orders enforceable through the courts.

Código de las Familias with free unions equal to marriage

Ley 603, the Código de las Familias y del Proceso Familiar of 2014, replaced the older family code and gives unión libre the same effects as marriage once cohabitation is stable and monogamous. Divorce is available on the ground of irreparable breakdown without proof of fault. Same-sex marriage is not recognised, though free unions between same-sex couples have been registered following constitutional litigation.

Ley 603 is notable for containing both substantive family law and its own procedural rules, with oral hearings, in a single code. In 2020 the Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional upheld the registration of a same-sex free union, relying on Inter-American standards, which created recognition of same-sex partnerships through adjudication despite the constitutional text defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Separate entity family acts with similar substance

Family law is an entity competence, so the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District each have their own Family Act. Their substance is broadly similar, covering marriage, divorce, parental care and maintenance.

Jurisdiction turns on residence within an entity, and a move between entities can change the applicable family law.

Civil marriage under the Marriage Act alongside recognised customary unions

Marriage may be civil, under the Marriage Act, or customary. The Abolition of Marital Power Act 2004 removed the husband's marital power over the person and property of the wife in civil marriages, a significant Roman-Dutch reform. Customary marriages are valid without registration, which continues to create proof difficulties on death or dissolution.

Family law is the clearest example of Botswana's dual system operating on the same population: the same couple may have a customary marriage recognised by their community and no civil record of it, and the consequences on intestacy differ sharply depending on which system governs.

Stable unions and same-sex marriage recognised by the courts

The Código Civil regulates marriage, and the Constitution recognises the união estável, a stable non-marital union with substantially similar effects that arises from the facts of cohabitation rather than a ceremony. The Supremo Tribunal Federal recognised same-sex unions in 2011 and the Conselho Nacional de Justiça required registries to celebrate same-sex marriages from 2013. Consensual divorce may be done by notarial deed.

Constitutional Amendment 66/2010 removed the prior separation requirement, so divorce is now available immediately and without grounds. The união estável matters greatly in practice because it can be established retrospectively by evidence of a public, continuous and lasting relationship, generating property and succession rights without any registration having taken place.

Syariah Courts for Muslims, civil courts for everyone else

Family law divides by religion. The Islamic Family Law Order governs Muslim marriage, divorce and custody through the Syariah Courts. Non-Muslims marry and divorce under the Married Women Act and the Divorce Act in the civil courts. Conversion to Islam moves a person's family matters into the Syariah jurisdiction, which can create acute problems in mixed marriages.

Muslim marriages require the wali's consent and registration with the Syariah authorities. Polygamy is permitted for Muslim men subject to Syariah Court permission. Non-Muslim divorce requires grounds under the Divorce Act, heard in the civil courts. Custody follows Islamic principles of hadhanah in the Syariah Courts. A conversion mid-marriage shifts jurisdiction and is one of the most difficult scenarios in Bruneian family practice. Inheritance for Muslims follows faraid rules administered by the Syariah Courts, not the civil succession statutes.

The 2009 Family Code with three matrimonial property regimes

The Family Code of 2009 lets spouses choose between statutory community, statutory separation and a contractual regime registered in a public register. Divorce may be by mutual consent or on breakdown, with fault relevant to costs and some ancillary questions.

The chosen property regime is recorded in a searchable register, so a counterparty dealing with one spouse can and should check it before relying on a single signature.

Code des personnes et de la famille 1989 permitting optional monogamy election

The 1989 Code (Zatu n° AN VII-0013) sets marriage age at 20 for men and 17 for women, recognises only civil marriage, and requires spouses to elect monogamy or polygamy at the ceremony — an election that binds thereafter. Religious and customary marriages have no civil effect unless registered.

Burkina Faso's monogamy election is a distinctive middle path: rather than banning or assuming polygamy, the Code forces an explicit choice at the moment of marriage and records it on the certificate. Because most unions are celebrated customarily and never registered, the Code governs a minority of actual marriages, and succession disputes frequently turn on whether any civil marriage existed at all.

The 1993 Persons and Family Code, with monogamy only

The Code des Personnes et de la Famille of 1993 recognises only monogamous civil marriage and governs filiation and matrimonial regimes. Succession is largely uncodified and governed by custom, which has historically disadvantaged daughters — a longstanding reform proposal that has not been enacted.

The absence of a succession statute is the most consequential gap in Burundian family law: because inheritance is governed by custom, daughters commonly do not inherit land, and in one of the most densely populated and land-scarce countries in Africa that has direct economic consequences. A succession bill has been repeatedly proposed since the 2000s without adoption.

Family law inside the Civil Code, with monogamy constitutionally required

Family relations are governed by Book 7 of the Civil Code rather than a separate family statute. Marriage is monogamous, and polygamy is a criminal offence. Divorce may be by mutual consent or on fault grounds, and requires court involvement. Foreign marriage to a Cambodian national is subject to specific administrative requirements including age and income conditions.

Minimum marriage age is 18, with limited exceptions from 16 with consent. Marriage is strictly monogamous; polygamy is criminalised. Divorce requires a court judgment, whether contested or by consent. Property acquired during marriage is generally common property, divided on divorce. Foreign men marrying Cambodian women face administrative age and income screening introduced to address trafficking concerns. Adoption by foreigners is governed by the 2009 Inter-Country Adoption Law and has been subject to suspensions.

The 1981 Civil Status Ordinance, with customary and Islamic marriage recognised

Ordinance 81/02 governs civil status, marriage and succession. Polygamous and monogamous marriage are both available and the form is elected at registration. Customary and Islamic marriage are recognised where registered, and a long-promised unified family code has not been enacted.

Cameroonian family law is the sharpest instance of the plural order in this batch: a couple elects a monogamous or polygamous regime at the point of marriage, and that election governs succession decades later. Customary courts continue to hear matters between parties subject to customary law, and the anglophone regions apply received English matrimonial rules, so the applicable law depends on region, religion and the registration choice.

Federal Divorce Act over provincial property and Quebec's separate regime

Family law is split. Parliament legislates divorce, and the Divorce Act as amended in 2021 replaced custody and access with parenting orders and decision-making responsibility, while requiring the court to decide by reference to the best interests of the child. Division of property on breakdown is provincial: Ontario equalises net family property, and Quebec applies the family patrimony rules of the Civil Code.

Quebec is the sharpest outlier: it does not recognise any property or support regime for de facto spouses, so a couple who never married may separate after decades with no claim on each other's assets, a result the Supreme Court upheld in Quebec v A. Elsewhere, provinces including British Columbia treat spouses who have cohabited two years much like married ones for property purposes.

Código da Família 1997 with civil marriage, monogamy and recognition of união de facto

The Código da Família provides for civil marriage only, monogamy, equal spousal rights and equal succession between children regardless of birth status. Cohabitation (união de facto) is recognised and produces defined legal effects.

Cabo Verdean family law is closer to contemporary Portuguese law than to its West African neighbours: monogamy is the only permitted form, children born outside marriage inherit equally, and de facto unions generate rights on proof of cohabitation. The 2011 gender-based violence law created specialised procedures and is actively enforced, which is unusual in the region.

The Family Code of 1997, with custom applying widely in practice

The 1997 Family Code governs marriage, filiation and succession, setting a minimum marriage age and regulating matrimonial regimes. Customary practice governs much of the country in fact, and the 2006 statute addressed reproductive health and violence against women.

The 1997 Code sits alongside strong customary practice, and the displacement caused by successive conflicts has made civil registration itself patchy, which in turn undermines the Code's operation because proof of age, marriage and filiation depends on records that were often destroyed.

No unified family code; custom and religion govern with statutory limits

Chad has never enacted a comprehensive family code — a 2001 draft was withdrawn after opposition. Marriage, divorce and succession are governed largely by customary and Islamic law, subject to statutory minimum-age and anti-FGM provisions in the 2017 Penal Code.

The absence of a family code makes Chad one of the clearest examples of legal pluralism operating by default rather than design: the applicable rules on divorce or inheritance depend on the parties' community, with the Penal Code supplying the only firm statutory limits.

Equal marriage since 2022 after the 2015 civil union

Ley 21.400 opened marriage to same-sex couples from March 2022, building on the acuerdo de unión civil created by Ley 20.830 in 2015. Divorce has been available only since Ley 19.947 of 2004, which introduced it along with dedicated family courts. Divorce by mutual consent requires one year of separation; unilateral divorce requires three.

Chile was among the last countries in the region to legalise divorce, in 2004, and the separation periods still reflect that late and contested introduction. The compensación económica is a distinctive remedy compensating a spouse who could not develop paid work during the marriage because of childcare or household responsibilities, and is assessed on factors including marriage duration and employability.

A compulsory 30-day cooling-off period before divorce by agreement

Marriage and divorce sit in Book Five of the Civil Code. The 2021 codification introduced a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period for uncontested divorce, after which the parties must actively confirm the application or it lapses.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised. The Civil Code retains fault grounds and adds a route to divorce where the parties have separated for a year and a first petition was refused. Marital property is community by default, with property acquired before marriage or by gift or inheritance to one spouse remaining separate. Custody decisions favour the mother for children under two. Personal safety protection orders under the Anti-Domestic Violence Law are available from courts independently of divorce proceedings.

Court-recognised equal marriage and notarial divorce

The Constitutional Court recognised same-sex marriage in decision SU-214 of 2016, and earlier recognised same-sex de facto unions. The unión marital de hecho under Ley 54/1990 creates a patrimonial community after two years of cohabitation. Consensual divorce may be completed before a notary, while contested divorce goes to a family judge.

Colombia's equality advances came largely through constitutional adjudication rather than legislation, with the Court repeatedly holding that excluding same-sex couples from marriage and adoption breached the equality guarantee. The one-year limitation on claiming liquidation of a de facto union's patrimonial community is a frequent trap, since the substantive right exists but is lost if not asserted in time.

The 2005 Family Code, codifying Islamic personal status

The Family Code of 2005 codified marriage, divorce and succession on a substantially Islamic basis while introducing registration requirements and a minimum marriage age. Qadi courts continue to hear personal status matters.

The 2005 Code is the clearest instance in this batch of codified rather than uncodified Islamic personal status: it fixes the rules on polygamy, dowry and divorce in statutory form and channels their application through qadis who sit within the state judicial structure, with appeal to the ordinary courts.

Family Code jurisdiction with same-sex marriage since 2020

The Family Code governs marriage, divorce, filiation and support, and specialised family courts hear these matters. Same-sex marriage became lawful on 26 May 2020, following the Inter-American Court's advisory opinion OC-24/17 and a Sala Constitucional ruling giving the legislature a deadline.

Maintenance arrears can lead to detention, which makes these among the most actively enforced orders in the system. Foreign divorce decrees need apostille and homologation before remarriage is registered.

The Family Act, compulsory mediation and shared parental care

The Family Act governs marriage, parental care and maintenance. Divorcing parents of minor children must attempt compulsory family mediation, and joint parental care plans are encouraged.

Same-sex couples can register a life partnership with most marriage-equivalent effects, though not full joint adoption.

Código de las Familias 2022, approved by referendum, with equal marriage

The Código de las Familias, Ley 156/2022, was approved in a national referendum in September 2022 and replaced the 1975 family code. It opened marriage to same-sex couples, recognised de facto unions with registrable effects, introduced adoption by same-sex couples, and replaced parental authority with the concept of responsabilidad parental exercised in the child's best interest. It also recognised solidarity between multiple caregivers, reflecting extended Cuban household structures.

Cuba is the only state in the region to have adopted marriage equality by popular referendum rather than by court ruling or ordinary legislation, which gives the 2022 code an unusual political durability. The shift from patria potestad to responsabilidad parental is not merely terminological, because it reframes the parent's position as a set of duties owed to the child rather than a power held over the child.

Family Courts with separate jurisdiction by religious community

Family Courts established under Law 23/1990 handle matrimonial matters. Jurisdiction is divided: separate Family Courts exist for members of the Greek Orthodox Church and for the recognised religious groups, reflecting the constitutional allocation of family matters to communal authority.

The structure reflects the 1960 constitutional settlement, under which family law was a communal matter. In practice there are Family Courts for the Greek Orthodox majority and separate ones for the Armenian, Maronite and Latin religious groups. Civil marriage is available to all under the Marriage Law, and religious marriage by a recognised officiant also has civil effect. For Greek Orthodox members a divorce petition ordinarily requires prior notification to the ecclesiastical authority. The Civil Partnership Law of 2015 recognises same-sex and opposite-sex partnerships with most, though not all, of the consequences of marriage.

Family law inside the Civil Code, with partnership reform in 2024

Family law was absorbed into the 2014 Civil Code. Divorce may be granted without inquiry into breakdown where the spouses agree and have lived apart for six months, and from 2025 same-sex couples may enter a partnership with nearly all marital effects.

The child arrangements decision comes first in practice: without an approved parenting agreement the divorce itself cannot be pronounced.

The 1987 Family Code, substantially reformed in 2016

The Family Code of 1987 was amended in 2016 to remove the wife's need for marital authorisation to act in law, equalise the minimum marriage age at 18 and revise parental authority. Monogamy is the only legally recognised form of marriage, though customary polygamy persists in fact.

The 2016 reform was significant because the 1987 Code had required a married woman to obtain her husband's authorisation for most legal acts, including employment and litigation. Removing that provision changed the capacity of millions of women to contract in their own name, and monogamy remains the only recognised marital form despite widespread customary practice to the contrary.

Administrative no-fault divorce and marriage equality since 2012

Most family matters are handled administratively by the Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset). Same-sex marriage has been available since 2012, and spouses can divorce directly by agreement.

Only contested matters reach the Family Court; the Agency of Family Law is the first stop for nearly all separations.

The 2002 Family Code, applying Islamic personal status through state courts

The Code de la Famille 2002 codifies marriage, divorce, custody and succession on Islamic principles, administered by the personal status chambers of the ordinary courts rather than by a separate qadi hierarchy.

The 2002 code brought personal status into a single statutory text and into the state court system, which was the main structural reform: previously qadi practice operated with less codified guidance. Substantively it remains recognisably Islamic — polygamy is permitted subject to conditions, and succession follows fixed shares — while imposing procedural requirements such as registration of marriage and judicial supervision of divorce that constrain unilateral repudiation. FGM is criminalised and has been since 1995, and the code and subsequent child-protection legislation reinforce that, though prevalence remains very high, which is a case where the gap between the statute and practice is the material fact rather than the statute itself. Marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man is not recognised.

Divorce Act with a two-year separation ground

Divorce is governed by the Divorce Act, which requires proof of breakdown, most commonly by two years of separation, or by adultery or cruelty. The Children Act and the Status of Children Act govern parental responsibility and remove the legal disabilities of children born outside marriage. Maintenance is enforced through the Magistrate's Court, which can attach earnings.

Property adjustment on divorce is less codified than in England, and the court works from beneficial ownership and contribution rather than a broad statutory redistribution power, so recording contributions to the acquisition of the family home matters more than it would under English law. Consensual unions are common and do not attract the property consequences of marriage, which is a frequent source of hardship on separation.

French-derived Código Civil with Ley 136-03 on children

Family law rests on the Código Civil, which descends from the French code, supplemented by Ley 136-03, the Código para el Sistema de Protección de los Derechos de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes. Divorce is available by mutual consent through a streamlined procedure, or on determinate grounds including incompatibility of character. The bien de familia regime protects the family home from certain creditors.

A Dominican divorce by mutual consent must be registered with the civil registry within the statutory period after pronouncement, and failure to do so can render the decree ineffective, which is a formality that catches foreign parties in particular. Non-payment of child support is treated as a criminal matter and can result in detention, so enforcement is materially more forceful than in many neighbouring systems.

Equal marriage since 2019 by Constitutional Court ruling

The Corte Constitucional recognised same-sex marriage in June 2019, applying Inter-American Court Advisory Opinion OC-24/17. De facto unions (unión de hecho) after two years produce the same effects as marriage and can be registered administratively. Consensual divorce is available before a notary where there are no minor children.

Ecuador is a clear example of Inter-American human-rights law changing domestic family law directly: the Constitutional Court treated OC-24/17 as authoritative and held that the Civil Code's opposite-sex definition was unconstitutional. Registered de facto unions have become a widely used alternative to marriage, with the registration recorded at the Registro Civil.

Codified Islamic personal status, with separate rules for Christian communities

Muslim personal status runs under Law 25/1920 and Law 25/1929 as amended, with the 2000 procedural reform introducing khul divorce. Christian communities apply their own denominational rules on marriage and divorce.

Law 1/2000 is the pivotal reform because it gave a wife a unilateral route out of marriage — khul, in which she returns the dower and forgoes financial claims — where previously she needed to prove statutory grounds. It was procedural in form and substantive in effect. Custody of young children ordinarily rests with the mother, with ages set by statute and amended upward over time, but guardianship over property and major decisions remains with the father, so custody and guardianship must be analysed separately. For Christians, the applicable rules are those of the relevant denomination, which produces markedly different divorce availability between Coptic Orthodox and other communities, and conversion between religions has been used to change the governing law, which the courts have addressed with restrictions.

A dedicated Family Code and specialised family courts

El Salvador consolidated family law into the Código de Familia of 1994, with its own procedural statute and specialised courts. Unión no matrimonial is recognised after three years and produces inheritance and maintenance effects. Same-sex marriage is not recognised.

Family procedure is oral and comparatively quick. The PGR provides free representation in maintenance and filiation matters, which is the usual route for claimants without means. Abortion is prohibited without exception, which has direct consequences in obstetric cases.

The received Spanish Civil Code, with customary marriage recognised

Family law rests on the Spanish Civil Code as received, supplemented by recognition of customary marriage. Customary practice, including bride price and polygamy, operates alongside the civil regime.

The coexistence of the Spanish Civil Code with recognised customary marriage produces the same dual-track problem as in francophone neighbours, but with Spanish rather than French doctrinal sources — so comparative reasoning runs to Spanish and Latin American authority rather than to French.

The 2015 Civil Code sets a statutory family law over customary and religious practice

The 2015 Civil Code contains the family provisions, setting 18 as the minimum marriage age and providing for civil, religious and customary marriage. Sharia courts handle Muslim personal status, and customary practice remains strong.

The statutory position is comparatively progressive: minimum marriage age of 18 for both sexes, consent requirements, monogamy as the civil norm, and provision for judicial divorce and property division. FGM was prohibited by Proclamation 158/2007. Eritrea also has a longstanding formal commitment to gender equality dating from the liberation struggle, in which women fought in large numbers. The difficulty is verification: three marriage regimes coexist — civil, religious and customary — and in rural areas customary and religious practice governs, with early marriage and FGM prevalence remaining significant despite prohibition. Community courts staffed by elected lay judges handle first-instance family matters. The absence of published case law, a functioning bar and independent monitoring means the relationship between the 2015 code and actual practice cannot be established from open sources.

Marriage equality from 2024 and administrative divorce

Estonia became the first Baltic and post-Soviet state to open marriage to same-sex couples, effective January 2024. Uncontested divorces can be granted by a notary or vital-statistics office.

The 2024 marriage reform replaced the earlier registered-partnership framework, marking a notable shift in the region.

Civil and Swazi law marriage with differing property and capacity consequences

Marriage may be civil, under the Marriage Act 47 of 1964, or by Swazi law and custom, which permits polygyny. The two regimes produce different property and guardianship consequences, and the choice is frequently ambiguous in practice because couples may undergo both. Sihlongonyane v Sihlongonyane (2013) held the common-law marital power unconstitutional.

Because a couple may be married both civilly and by Swazi law and custom, and the regimes differ on polygyny, property and inheritance, determining which marriage governs is a routine and consequential preliminary question in Eswatini family litigation.

A 2000 federal family code, with regional codes and recognised religious courts

The Revised Family Code 2000 raised the marriage age to 18 for both sexes, abolished the husband's status as head of the family and introduced judicial divorce. Sharia courts have jurisdiction over Muslim personal status where both parties consent.

The 2000 revision was a substantial break from the 1960 Civil Code's family provisions: equal minimum marriage age, removal of the marital-power doctrine, equal division of common property and divorce by court rather than by family arbitrators. Because family law is devolved, the federal code technically governs only the two chartered cities, and the practical position in any given matter depends on the regional code — most track the federal text closely, but not identically. Sharia courts operate with real jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, maintenance and succession for Muslims, and their competence rests on the consent of both parties, so the same dispute can go to a first-instance civil court or a Sharia court depending on election. Customary marriage remains widespread and is recognised, which means that establishing whether a marriage exists is frequently an evidentiary question rather than a documentary one.

Family Law Act 2003 no-fault divorce in a dedicated division

The Family Law Act 2003 replaced fault-based matrimonial law with a no-fault system, created a Family Division of the Magistrates Court and High Court, and made the best interests of the child paramount.

The 2003 Act was a deliberate break: it abolished fault grounds, so the only question is whether the marriage has broken down irretrievably, evidenced by twelve months' separation. Property is divided on a contributions-plus-future-needs basis rather than by a fixed share, and non-financial contribution counts. Customary and religious marriages are recognised where registered, which matters because Fiji has substantial iTaukei, Indo-Fijian and Muslim communities with distinct marriage practices. Maintenance and child support run through the Family Division, and the Legal Aid Commission handles a large share of these matters.

Gender-neutral marriage since 2017 with a reflection-period divorce

The Marriage Act has been gender-neutral since 2017. Divorce is no-fault and normally granted after a six-month reconsideration period, or directly after two years of living apart.

No reason need be given for divorce, and either spouse can apply alone, which keeps the process administratively simple.

Marriage, PACS and no-fault divorce by mutual consent before a notaire

France offers marriage (including same-sex since 2013) and the PACS civil partnership. Divorce by mutual consent has since 2017 been finalised by lawyers and registered by a notaire, without a judge.

Forced heirship (réserve héréditaire) constrains how much of an estate can be left away from children, which surprises many foreign residents.

The Civil Code's first part, with polygamy elected at marriage

Family law sits in the first part of the Gabonese Civil Code. Marriage may be monogamous or polygamous by election, and the 2021 reforms removed the husband's status as head of household and equalised authority over children and property.

The 2021 amendments were among the more substantial family-law reforms in central Africa, removing the provisions that made the husband head of the household and required a wife's obedience, and giving both spouses equal say over the matrimonial home.

Three regimes with Cadi courts holding exclusive jurisdiction over Muslim personal law

Civil, Islamic and customary marriage coexist. Section 7 of the Constitution recognises Sharia and customary law as sources, and the Cadi courts have jurisdiction over marriage, divorce and inheritance for Muslims — who are the large majority — making Islamic personal law the dominant family law regime in practice.

The Civil Marriage Act governs monogamous civil marriage with dissolution in the High Court. For the Muslim majority, the Cadi courts established under the Cadi Court Act apply Maliki fiqh to marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance, with appeal to the Cadi Appeals Panel; their jurisdiction is exclusive in those matters where the parties are Muslim, so the substantive law of marriage for most Gambians is Islamic rather than statutory. Customary law applies to other communities through District Tribunals. The Children's Act 2005 sets 18 as the age of majority and prohibits child marriage and betrothal, and the Women's Act 2010 domesticated CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol, guaranteeing equality in marriage and prohibiting harmful practices — though the interaction between the Women's Act and personal law under s.7 has been contested. The Domestic Violence Act 2013 created protection orders and criminalised domestic violence.

Civil Code family law with registration through the Public Service Hall

Book Five of the Civil Code governs family relations. Marriage is registered through the Public Service Development Agency, and since 2017 the minimum age is 18 without exception, closing a route that had permitted marriage at 16.

The 2017 amendment removed all exceptions to the age-18 rule for marriage, an important child protection reform. Property acquired during marriage is joint by default and divided on divorce, with prenuptial agreements permitted. Divorce may be registered administratively where both spouses agree and there are no disputes over children or property; otherwise it is decided by a court. The 2006 domestic violence law created police-issued restraining orders subject to prompt judicial confirmation and court-issued protective orders. Georgia's Public Service Halls consolidate civil registration functions and are notably efficient in practice.

Civil marriage for all since 2017 and statutory equalisation on divorce

The BGB governs family law, with civil marriage open to same-sex couples since 2017. Divorce generally follows a one-year separation, and pension rights and accrued gains are equalised between spouses.

The Versorgungsausgleich automatically splits pension entitlements on divorce, which is often more valuable than the division of property.

Three marriage regimes, with judicial discretion over property replacing the old contribution test

Ghana recognises ordinance, customary and Mohammedan marriage. Divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1971 turns on irretrievable breakdown. The Supreme Court in Mensah v Mensah (2012) and Quartson v Quartson (2012) established that marital property is shared on equitable principles without proof of financial contribution.

The Marriages Act 1884-1985 consolidates three regimes: ordinance marriage is monogamous and registered; customary marriage is potentially polygynous and formed under community rules; Mohammedan marriage is registered under Part Three. The Matrimonial Causes Act 1971 (Act 367) applies directly to ordinance marriages and may be applied to the others, and the sole ground is that the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation. The most consequential development is judicial rather than legislative: the Supreme Court moved from requiring proof of substantial contribution to a jurisprudence of equality, holding in Mensah v Mensah that property acquired during marriage is joint property and that a homemaker's non-financial contribution counts, and in Quartson emphasising equity in the particular circumstances. Article 22 of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact a property rights of spouses law, which has still not been passed, so the field remains judge-made. The Children's Act 1998 sets 18 as the minimum marriage age and governs custody by the best interests standard, and intestate succession is governed by PNDC Law 111, which gives the surviving spouse and children defined shares against customary claims.

Consensual divorce before a notary and a presumption of shared parenting

Family law sits in the Civil Code. Divorce by agreement can be completed by notarial deed without a court hearing, and a 2021 reform introduced a strong presumption in favour of joint exercise of parental responsibility.

Civil-registry marriages and church marriages both have civil effect, but the type of marriage affects the documents needed for divorce.

Matrimonial Causes Act with maintenance in the Magistrate's Court

Divorce proceeds under the Matrimonial Causes Act on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, usually established by separation, adultery or unreasonable behaviour. The Status of Children Act removed the disabilities of children born outside marriage, and the Child Protection Act governs care proceedings. Maintenance and protection orders are obtained in the Magistrate's Court.

Property division follows beneficial ownership and contribution rather than a wide statutory redistribution power, so the court asks who paid for what rather than what would be fair overall, and a non-earning spouse must plead indirect contribution carefully. Consensual unions are widespread and do not create matrimonial property rights, which regularly leaves a long-term partner without a claim on separation.

Civil Code marriage with a specialised family jurisdiction

Family matters sit with dedicated Juzgados de Familia under the Ley de Tribunales de Familia. The Civil Code governs marriage, and unión de hecho can be registered to produce most of the effects of marriage. Same-sex marriage is not recognised.

Arraigo is the most effective maintenance remedy in practice and is granted readily. Femicide and domestic violence cases go to specialised courts created by Decreto 22-2008, which run separately from the family courts.

Code civil family provisions with polygamy prohibited but widely practised

The Code civil sets marriage age at 18 and, since the 2019 Code civil revision, prohibits polygamy while recognising pre-existing polygamous unions. Customary and religious marriage remains the norm, and FGM is criminalised but highly prevalent.

Guinea illustrates the gap between code and practice more starkly than most: monogamy is the legal rule and FGM is a criminal offence, yet both polygamy and FGM remain common, and the vast majority of marriages are never civilly registered. Advising on succession therefore usually begins with proving the existence and form of a marriage rather than applying the Code's default rules.

Portuguese-derived civil code family law with recognised customary practice

Family law derives from the Portuguese Código Civil, providing for civil marriage and monogamy. In practice Islamic and customary marriage predominate, and the 2011 statute criminalising FGM is a significant reform enforced unevenly.

The retained Portuguese Código Civil sits atop a society in which most marriages are celebrated under Islamic or ethnic custom, so the civil code's monogamy rule and its equal succession shares apply to a minority of unions. The 2011 FGM prohibition was a notable legislative achievement given the practice's prevalence, and prosecutions, though few, have occurred.

Common-law marriage and divorce with statutory cohabitation rights

Marriage and divorce follow the Marriage Act and the Matrimonial Causes Act, with divorce available on fault and separation grounds. The Family Dependants (Provision) Act and the Married Persons (Property) Act govern financial relief, and the Civil Law Act recognises certain rights for common-law unions. Same-sex marriage is not recognised.

The Family and Domestic Violence Act 2024 replaced the 1996 legislation and broadened protection to a wider range of relationships with strengthened police duties and emergency orders. Guyana retains colonial-era provisions criminalising same-sex conduct between men, though the CCJ struck down a related cross-dressing law in McEwan v Attorney General (2018) as unconstitutionally vague and discriminatory.

Code civil family law with the 2005 decree on plaçage children

Marriage, filiation and succession are governed by the Code civil of 1825 as amended, with divorce available on fault grounds and by mutual consent. A 2005 decree removed the discriminatory distinction between legitimate and natural children for succession purposes, which mattered greatly in a society where plaçage, informal conjugal union, is common. Domestic violence and sexual offences were addressed by a 2005 decree that reclassified rape as a crime against the person rather than an offence against morals.

Late birth registration is a structural problem with direct legal consequences, because a person without an acte de naissance struggles to prove filiation, inherit, obtain identity documents or vote, and regularising it requires a judicial declaration rather than an administrative fix. The 1982 decree removed the husband's legal status as head of the household, but customary practice in property and succession matters often lags behind the text.

Canonical marriage, nullity instead of divorce

Marriage is governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which treats a consummated sacramental marriage as indissoluble. There is no divorce; a marriage can only be declared null, or dissolved in narrow canonical situations.

A canonical nullity has no civil effect by itself; civil consequences depend on the concordat or private international law of the country concerned.

Family Code matters heard by specialised courts

The Código de Familia of 1984 governs marriage, filiation and unión de hecho, with specialised Juzgados de Familia. Same-sex marriage is constitutionally prohibited by Article 112, and abortion is prohibited by a 2021 constitutional amendment requiring a supermajority to change.

Protection orders under the domestic violence statute are obtainable quickly and do not require a lawyer. The Dirección de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia intervenes in child protection matters and its reports carry weight in custody decisions.

Family law in Book Four of the Civil Code with registered partnership

Family law moved into Book Four of the 2013 Civil Code. Marriage is constitutionally limited to a man and a woman, but same-sex couples may enter a registered partnership with most, though not all, marital effects, notably excluding joint adoption.

An uncontested petition still requires a court hearing and an approved settlement, but it typically resolves in a single sitting where the children's arrangements are already documented.

A single gender-neutral marriage law since 2010

Iceland was among the first states to adopt one gender-neutral marriage law, in 2010. Divorce and most family matters are handled by the district commissioners.

The district commissioner, not a court, is the usual venue for divorce, custody and child-support agreements.

Personal law by religion, with a secular alternative

Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis each have their own marriage, divorce and succession law. The Special Marriage Act 1954 offers a religion-neutral route, and Goa alone has a uniform civil code.

The 2005 amendment gave Hindu daughters equal coparcenary rights in ancestral property, and the Supreme Court confirmed in 2020 that this applies regardless of whether the father was alive in 2005. Instant triple talaq was criminalised in 2019 following Shayara Bano. Uttarakhand enacted a state uniform civil code in 2024, and other states are considering the same, so the map is actively changing. Irretrievable breakdown is not a statutory ground, though the Supreme Court has granted divorce on it under Article 142.

Marriage law tied to religion, with Religious Courts for Muslims

The Marriage Law of 1974 requires marriage to be conducted according to the parties' religion, which in practice makes interfaith marriage very difficult and has produced a substantial body of workaround practice. Muslim family matters go to the Religious Courts (Pengadilan Agama) applying the Compilation of Islamic Law; others go to the District Courts.

Marriage is valid if performed according to the religion of the parties and registered. The minimum marriage age is 19 for both sexes following the 2019 amendment. Religious Courts have jurisdiction over Muslim marriage, divorce, inheritance and waqf. Polygamy is permitted for Muslim men only with court permission and existing wife's consent. Interfaith couples commonly marry abroad and register the foreign marriage, or one party formally converts — both routes have consequences worth advising on. The 2019 amendment raised the female minimum age from 16 to 19 following a Constitutional Court ruling.

Shi'a jurisprudence codified, with family courts and the 2013 Family Protection Law

Marriage, divorce and custody are governed by the Civil Code's personal status provisions, drawn from Twelver Shi'a jurisprudence, and administered by specialised family courts under the Family Protection Law 2013.

The Family Protection Law 2013 consolidated jurisdiction in family courts and introduced procedural requirements before a divorce is registered, including referral to counselling. Substantively, a husband's right to unilateral divorce (talaq) remains, while a wife's route is either a stipulated delegated right in the marriage contract or a judicial divorce on defined grounds. Mahr is enforceable as a debt and is often the practical mechanism through which financial settlement occurs. Recognised minorities — Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians under Article 13 — apply their own rules in some personal status matters.

The Personal Status Law 1959 — codified, unified, and contested

Law No. 188 of 1959 codified personal status for Muslims in a single statute administered by the ordinary courts rather than by separate religious tribunals. It has been the subject of repeated repeal attempts.

The 1959 law was progressive for its time and remains comparatively so: it restricted polygamy by requiring judicial permission, set a minimum marriage age of eighteen with judicial discretion to allow fifteen, and gave courts jurisdiction over divorce and custody. Non-Muslim communities apply their own rules through recognised religious authorities. Article 41 of the 2005 Constitution sits awkwardly with the unified statute, and amendments to devolve personal status to sectarian authorities have been proposed repeatedly, most recently in 2024. Anyone relying on the 1959 position should verify the current amendment state, because this is genuinely live.

Divorce and marriage equality, each delivered by referendum

Divorce became lawful only after the 1995 referendum, and marriage equality after the 2015 referendum. A 2019 vote eased the required period of living apart before divorce.

The 2019 referendum removed the four-year separation rule from the Constitution, but a statutory living-apart period still applies.

Religious courts with exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce

Marriage and divorce are governed by the religious law of the parties' community and administered by religious courts — rabbinical, sharia, Druze and Christian ecclesiastical. There is no civil marriage in Israel, though marriages validly contracted abroad are registered.

This is the defining feature of Israeli family law and a genuine dual system. The rabbinical courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the marriage and divorce of Jews, applying halakha, which means a Jewish divorce requires the husband to grant a get; refusal creates the agunah problem, partially addressed by sanctions legislation. Sharia courts have equivalent jurisdiction for Muslims, and Druze and recognised Christian courts for their communities. Because there is no civil marriage, couples who cannot marry religiously — including interfaith couples and same-sex couples — commonly marry abroad, and the Interior Ministry registers such marriages. Ancillary matters such as property, maintenance and custody may be heard in either the religious court or the civil Family Court, which produces a well-known race to file.

Fast-track divorce, civil unions and equal status for all children

Family law is in the Civil Code, reformed to introduce quick divorce and to equalise the status of children born inside and outside marriage. Same-sex civil unions were introduced in 2016, and the Cartabia reform created a unified family court.

Uncontested separation and divorce can be concluded before the registrar or by negotiated agreement with lawyers, avoiding court entirely.

Marriage law reformed in 2019 to abolish the husband's status as head of household

Loi n° 2019-570 on marriage removed the designation of the husband as chef de famille, giving spouses joint authority, and set a uniform marriage age of 18. Polygamy has been prohibited since 1964. Loi n° 2019-572 reformed succession.

Côte d'Ivoire prohibited polygamy in 1964, unusually early for the region, but the 2019 reforms addressed a subtler inequality: the Code had made the husband head of household with decisive authority over the matrimonial home and children. The 2019 Act replaced that with joint management, and the parallel succession statute equalised the position of surviving spouses.

Property (Rights of Spouses) Act with an equal-share presumption

The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act 2004 created a statutory presumption that each spouse is entitled to half the family home, and it extends to common-law partners who have cohabited for at least five years. Divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act on the single ground of irretrievable breakdown, evidenced by twelve months' separation. Maintenance for spouses and children is dealt with under the Maintenance Act 2005.

The twelve-month window for a property application under the 2004 Act is the trap: it runs from the dissolution of the marriage or the end of cohabitation, and although the court may extend it, an applicant who assumes the ordinary limitation period applies can lose the equal-share presumption. The presumption itself can be displaced, but only where it would be unreasonable or unjust to apply it.

No joint custody after divorce until the 2024 reform takes effect

Japanese law has allowed only sole parental authority after divorce, a rule criticised internationally. A 2024 Civil Code amendment introduces joint custody and is being brought into force by 2026.

The great majority of Japanese divorces are kyogi rikon by mutual agreement, completed by filing a form with no judicial scrutiny of custody or support. Because only one parent could hold parental authority afterwards, the system drew sustained criticism and Hague Convention friction; the 2024 amendment allows courts and parents to choose joint authority. Japan does not recognise same-sex marriage, though several high courts have found the exclusion unconstitutional and many municipalities issue partnership certificates. A married couple must share one surname, upheld by the Supreme Court but under continuing challenge.

Sharia courts for Muslims, recognised church tribunals for Christians

Personal status for Muslims is governed by the Personal Status Law 2019 and administered by Sharia courts. Recognised Christian denominations administer their own personal status through church tribunals.

The 2019 law consolidated earlier temporary legislation. Minimum marriage age is eighteen, with judicial discretion to permit sixteen in defined circumstances — a discretion still exercised in a substantial number of cases. Polygamy requires notification and a finding of financial capacity. Divorce by talaq remains available to husbands; wives may seek khul' by returning the mahr, or judicial divorce on defined grounds. Custody ordinarily rests with the mother during early childhood with guardianship in the father. Because the Sharia courts and church tribunals are separate systems, an interfaith couple faces a genuine jurisdictional problem, and civil marriage is not available domestically.

Registry divorce where spouses agree and have no minor children

The Code on Marriage and Family sets 18 as the marriage age and provides community of marital property. An agreed divorce without minor children is registered administratively; otherwise a court decides.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised and polygamy is prohibited, though unregistered religious marriage occurs. Property acquired during marriage is jointly owned and divided equally in principle, with prenuptial agreements permitted in notarised form. Custody follows the child's interests with the child's own view considered from age ten. Amendments in 2024 recriminalised battery and toughened penalties for domestic violence after sustained campaigning, reversing an earlier decriminalisation.

The Marriage Act 2014, recognising five forms of marriage

The Marriage Act 2014 consolidated marriage law and recognises Christian, civil, customary, Hindu and Islamic marriage, with polygamy available in customary and Islamic forms only. The Matrimonial Property Act 2013 governs division, and the Court of Appeal has held that non-monetary contribution counts.

The 2014 Act's achievement was to bring five marriage traditions under one statute while preserving their distinct rules — most importantly, that polygamy is lawful in customary and Islamic marriage but converting a monogamous marriage to a polygamous one is not. Kadhis' courts are constitutionally entrenched under article 170 with jurisdiction limited to Muslim personal status where all parties consent, which is a narrower jurisdiction than is often assumed.

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.

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.

Maliki-based personal status for Sunnis, with a separate Shia code

Personal status for Sunni Muslims follows the 1984 code based on Maliki fiqh. Shia Kuwaitis have their own separate personal status law.

Kuwait is the clearest Gulf example of formally parallel confessional family law: the 2019 Ja'fari code gave Shia citizens their own enacted personal status law rather than leaving them to judicial application of Ja'fari fiqh, so the applicable code turns on the parties' school. Marriage age is seventeen for men and fifteen for women. Custody usually rests with the mother for young children while guardianship remains paternal. Kuwaiti women cannot pass nationality to their children on the same terms as men, which produces practical statelessness problems that recur in family litigation.

Religious marriage banned before civil registration to curb child marriage

The Family Code sets 18 as the marriage age. A 2016 amendment criminalised conducting a religious marriage ceremony before civil registration, aimed squarely at underage and unregistered unions.

The 2016 nikah amendment makes it an offence for a religious official, and for parents, to arrange a religious marriage where a party is under 18 or the civil marriage has not been registered, a direct response to bride kidnapping and unregistered polygamous unions. Ala kachuu, non-consensual bride kidnapping, is a criminal offence with penalties raised after high-profile killings. Marital property is community property divided equally in principle. The 2017 domestic violence law introduced protection orders issued by police and courts.

The 2008 Family Law, with approval required to marry a foreigner

The Family Law of 2008 (amended 2018) governs marriage, divorce and custody. A distinctive feature is that a Lao citizen marrying a foreign national requires official approval, and unapproved marriages are not registered. Marital property is generally common, and divorce requires court proceedings after attempted reconciliation.

Minimum marriage age is 18, reducible to 15 in special cases with consent. Marriage between a Lao citizen and a foreigner requires prior official approval. Property acquired during marriage is common property, divided equally on divorce. Divorce requires court proceedings preceded by village-level reconciliation attempts. The foreign marriage approval process is administratively substantial and should be started well in advance. Adoption by foreigners is tightly restricted and requires central government approval.

Civil-Law marriage with a new civil-union framework

Marriage under the Civil Law is between a man and a woman, as the Satversme was amended to define in 2005. A civil-union law giving same-sex and other couples registered rights took effect in 2024.

Notarial divorce is available only where there is agreement and no unresolved disputes over children or property.

Fifteen recognised personal status regimes and no civil marriage

Personal status is administered by the courts of eighteen recognised confessions applying their own law. There is no civil marriage in Lebanon, though civil marriages contracted abroad are registered and recognised.

This is the most fragmented personal status system in the region: Sunni, Ja'fari, Druze, Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Armenian and other tribunals each apply distinct substantive rules on marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance, with different minimum ages and different outcomes on the same facts. There is no civil alternative domestically, so couples of different confessions, or who want no religious marriage, marry abroad — Cyprus being the usual destination — and register the marriage on return, where it is recognised and governed by the foreign law. Repeated attempts to introduce optional civil marriage have failed. Inheritance for Muslims follows Islamic rules; for Christians the 1959 law applies.

Civil and customary marriage under Roman-Dutch law with Laws of Lerotholi

Marriage may be civil, under the Marriage Act, or customary under the Laws of Lerotholi. The Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act 9 of 2006 abolished the husband's marital power in civil marriages. Customary marriage requires bohali (bridewealth) and may be polygynous.

The Laws of Lerotholi are an unusual artefact: a written codification of Basotho custom compiled in the colonial period, still applied, which means Lesotho's customary law is textual in a way most African customary systems are not — and therefore ages in a way that living custom does not.

Statutory and customary marriage in parallel, with the Domestic Relations Law governing the former

The Domestic Relations Law (title 9) governs statutory monogamous marriage, divorce, custody and adoption on an American model. Customary marriage, potentially polygynous, is separately recognised and administered in tribal courts, and the Inheritance Law 2003 secured statutory inheritance rights for customary widows.

Statutory marriage under title 9 is monogamous, licensed and solemnised, with divorce available on specified grounds including incompatibility of temper, adultery and desertion, and with custody determined by the child's welfare. Customary marriage, contracted under the rules of the relevant community with dowry, is valid and may be polygynous, and until 2003 customary widows had markedly weaker rights. The Act to Govern the Devolution of Estates and Establish Rights of Inheritance for Spouses of Both Statutory and Customary Marriages 2003 is the key reform: it gives customary widows the right to inherit, to remain in the marital home, and not to be treated as inheritable property, and it prohibits forcing a widow to marry a relative of the deceased. The Children's Law 2011 codifies the best-interests standard and prohibits child marriage below 18, though customary practice and the Domestic Relations Law's lower thresholds have produced inconsistency that reform proposals continue to address.

Islamic personal status under Law 10/1984, applied by courts in both territories

Law 10/1984 governs marriage, divorce and their effects on Islamic principles. Family courts have continued to function through the conflict more consistently than other parts of the system.

Personal status is the area where Libyan law has been most continuous, because Law 10/1984 remained in force through the Gaddafi period and after it, and family courts have generally kept operating even where other institutions did not. Marriage requires the consent of a guardian in practice and polygamy is permitted, with a 2013 Supreme Court decision removing a requirement for the first wife's consent that had been imposed by earlier legislation — a change often missed. Divorce, custody and maintenance follow codified Islamic rules with custody of young children ordinarily with the mother and guardianship paternal. Registration of marriages and births has been disrupted by displacement, which creates downstream problems of proof for nationality and inheritance rather than doctrinal ones.

Same-sex marriage since 2025, on an Austrian-model civil law base

Family law rests on the received Austrian General Civil Code (ABGB). Marriage was opened to same-sex couples on 1 January 2025, replacing the earlier registered partnership as the route to full marital status. Divorce is granted by the court, with amicable and breakdown-based routes.

The 2025 reform aligned Liechtenstein with its neighbours by moving from registered partnership to full marriage equality. Because the civil law follows the Austrian model, Austrian doctrine is often persuasive.

Civil-Code marriage with divorce by mutual consent

Marriage under the 2001 Civil Code is between a man and a woman, as the Constitution provides. Divorce is available by mutual consent, on one party's application, or for fault.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised, and proposals for civil partnership have repeatedly stalled in the Seimas.

No-fault divorce since 2018, and same-sex marriage since 2015

A 2018 reform abolished fault-based divorce, leaving two routes: divorce by mutual consent and divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marital relationship. Marriage was opened to same-sex couples in 2015, and the partnership (PACS) is available as an alternative.

Mutual-consent divorce is faster and requires a full agreement on the consequences, drawn up with a notary where property is at stake. Maintenance and child arrangements are set within the divorce and reviewed in the child's interests.

Loi 2007-022 on marriage with 18 as the minimum age and recognised customary unions

Loi 2007-022 governs marriage and matrimonial regimes, setting 18 as the minimum age for both sexes and providing for the recognition of traditional marriage (fanambadiana) on registration. The default matrimonial regime is the zara-mira community of property unless the parties choose otherwise.

The zara-mira regime — equal division of property acquired during the marriage — is the Malagasy default and differs from the French communauté réduite aux acquêts in its treatment of contributions, which matters on divorce and on death.

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.

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.

Two family law systems divided by religion, and a hard jurisdictional line

Non-Muslims marry and divorce under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 in the civil courts. Muslims are governed by state Islamic Family Law enactments in the Sharia courts. Because Article 121(1A) bars the civil courts from Sharia matters, unilateral conversion of a child or spouse has produced genuinely intractable jurisdictional litigation.

The LRA 1976 governs non-Muslim marriage, divorce and custody in the civil courts. State Islamic Family Law enactments govern Muslim family matters in the Sharia courts. Polygamy is available to Muslim men with Sharia court permission; it is prohibited for non-Muslims. Minimum marriage age is 18 for non-Muslims; state Sharia law permits younger with court consent. Conversion to Islam by one spouse is the hardest scenario in Malaysian family law — the Federal Court has addressed it but the boundary remains contested. Each state has its own Islamic family enactment; do not assume uniformity across Malaysia.

Family Act applies Islamic family law through the Family Court

The Family Act 2000 governs marriage, divorce and custody applying Islamic law. Divorce must be registered through the Family Court, and unilateral extra-judicial talaq is not recognised.

Requiring divorce to pass through the court was a deliberate reform in a jurisdiction that once had among the world's highest divorce rates. Polygamy is permitted with court permission based on capacity to maintain. Custody normally follows the mother for young children with the father as guardian, and maintenance is enforceable through the court. Marriage of a Maldivian to a non-Muslim is not permitted.

Code des personnes et de la famille 2011, which retained polygamy after clerical opposition

Loi n° 2011-087 followed the withdrawal of a more liberal 2009 draft after mass protests led by Islamic associations. The enacted Code retains polygamy, sets marriage age at 18 for men and 16 for women, and requires wives to obey their husbands.

Mali's 2011 Code is the clearest case in the region of family-law reform being reversed by organised religious opposition. The 2009 version raised the marriage age to 18 for both sexes, removed the wife's duty of obedience and equalised inheritance; after protests the President returned it to parliament, and the 2011 text restored the more conservative rules and gave religious marriage direct civil effect.

Divorce since 2011, civil unions and a strong mediation requirement

Malta introduced divorce by referendum in 2011 and has since legislated for civil unions and marriage equality. Separation and divorce proceedings begin with compulsory mediation before the Family Court.

The default matrimonial regime is community of acquests, which can be varied only by public deed before or during marriage.

Statutory marriage and divorce alongside customary adoption and lineage

Marriage, divorce and maintenance are statutory and heard by the High Court, while adoption and the transmission of land rights remain substantially customary and matrilineal.

The statutory scheme provides for registered marriage, judicial divorce on stated grounds, maintenance and custody. Running alongside it is customary practice, most visibly in adoption: kokajiriri, the customary transfer of a child within the extended family, is widespread and may not be registered, which creates real difficulty when the child later asserts land rights or needs documentation for travel or US Compact purposes. Because land descends through the bwij, questions of who is a lineage member carry property consequences that a purely statutory family court would not reach, and this is why the Traditional Rights Court's role matters in family matters too. The Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act 2011 introduced protection orders and police powers, a significant reform in a society where such matters were previously handled within the family.

Code du statut personnel 2001 applying Maliki jurisprudence

Ordonnance n° 2001-052 codifies personal status on Maliki lines: polygamy is permitted subject to conditions, guardianship rules apply to a bride's consent, and inheritance follows Quranic shares. Marriage age is 18 with judicial exceptions.

The 2001 Code is a codification of Maliki fiqh rather than a civil-law family code, so its provisions on guardianship, dower and inheritance follow classical doctrine. A draft law on violence against women and girls has been repeatedly blocked in parliament on the ground that it conflicts with sharia, which is why criminal protection in this area rests largely on the trafficking and reproductive health statutes instead.

Civil Code family law with civil and religious marriage and no same-sex marriage

Marriage and divorce are governed by the Code Civil Mauricien, with civil marriage before an officer of civil status and religious marriage recognised where the celebrant is authorised. The Children's Act 2020 consolidated child protection. The Supreme Court decriminalised same-sex conduct in 2023, but same-sex marriage is not available.

The default matrimonial regime is the French communauté légale unless the parties contract otherwise before a notary, which means Mauritian pre-nuptial planning is a notarial act rather than a private agreement — a civil-law feature inside a Commonwealth court system.

State civil codes, with nationwide same-sex marriage

Family law is state law, so requirements differ across the 32 entities. The Supreme Court's 2015 jurisprudence made any state ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, and by 2022 every state had legislated accordingly. No-fault divorce is available in most states.

Which state's court has jurisdiction usually turns on the couple's domicile. Foreign marriages and divorces need apostille and certified translation before they can be registered at the Registro Civil.

State family law over customary marriage, adoption and lineage

Marriage, divorce, custody and adoption are principally state matters, and customary marriage and adoption are widely recognised alongside statutory forms.

Family law is one of the clearest illustrations of the federal structure: the governing rules are those of the state, and the four states differ on grounds for divorce, property consequences and the treatment of customary marriage. Customary marriage is recognised in practice across the federation, and customary adoption within the extended family is common and often unregistered, which later creates documentary problems for inheritance, school enrolment and travel under the Compact. Because land tenure is lineage-based, questions of clan membership decided in a family context carry direct property consequences. Domestic violence legislation has been enacted at state level with varying scope, and enforcement capacity is uneven across the outer islands.

A 2000 Family Code with registry divorce for childless couples

The Family Code of 2000 governs marriage and parentage. Spouses without minor children and without property disputes may divorce at the civil registry, while all other cases go to court, and property acquired in marriage is jointly owned by default.

A registry divorce takes one month from filing but is blocked if either spouse objects, at which point the case must be restarted before the court.

Civil solidarity contracts since 2020, but no same-sex marriage

Since June 2020 Monaco recognises civil solidarity contracts (contrats de vie commune) for couples regardless of sex, and cohabitation contracts for family members living together, both by notarial deed. Same-sex marriage is not recognised, and these contracts do not affect civil status, filiation or inheritance rights.

The 2020 contracts give couples a legal framework for their shared life without equating to marriage, so partners should plan expressly for inheritance, which the contract does not confer. Notarial involvement is required to create and to end them.

Court divorce for couples with children, registry divorce otherwise

The Family Law sets 18 as the marriage age and provides community of marital property. Couples without minor children and in agreement may divorce through the civil registry; otherwise a court decides.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised. Property acquired during the marriage is jointly owned and divided equally in principle, with adjustment for the children's interests. Custody follows the best interests of the child, and maintenance is set as a proportion of income by number of children. The 2016 domestic violence law made repeated domestic violence a criminal offence and introduced protection orders, a significant change from the earlier administrative-only approach.

The Family Act with joint parental care and mediation

The Family Act governs marriage, parental relations and maintenance, providing for divorce by agreement or on petition. Mediation is encouraged in disputes concerning children.

Social welfare centres prepare reports and supervise contact arrangements, and their assessment strongly influences custody outcomes.

The 2004 Moudawana, the region's most-cited personal status reform

The 2004 Family Code raised the marriage age to 18, made polygamy subject to judicial authorisation, replaced male guardianship with joint responsibility, and moved divorce under court supervision.

The Moudawana is the most consequential family law reform in the Arab world because it did not merely adjust ages and grounds; it reframed the marriage as a joint responsibility and required judicial authorisation for acts that had been unilateral male prerogatives. Polygamy remains lawful but requires a judge to find exceptional justification and to hear the existing wife, which has reduced it to a small residue in practice. The chiqaq divorce route, available to either spouse for irreconcilable difference with a six-month resolution requirement, is now the dominant path and was the practical innovation. Enforcement of maintenance remained the weak point, addressed later through a family solidarity fund. A further revision process was announced in 2023 and is ongoing, so the Code should be checked against current amendments.

Lei da Família 2004 recognising monogamous and de facto unions with 18 as the marriage age

The Lei da Família (Lei 10/2004) governs marriage, which may be civil, religious or traditional, all requiring registration for full effect, and recognises the união de facto after one year. The Lei de Prevenção e Combate às Uniões Prematuras (Lei 19/2019) prohibits marriage under 18 without exception and criminalises facilitating it.

The 2019 statute is among the strongest anti-child-marriage laws in Africa because it removes the parental-consent exception entirely and attaches criminal liability to those who arrange such unions, responding to one of the region's highest child-marriage rates.

Personal law by religion, with Buddhist customary rules for the majority

Family law is applied according to the parties' religion. Burmese Buddhist customary law governs the majority, while Islamic, Hindu and Christian personal laws apply to their respective communities.

Burmese Buddhist customary law permits divorce by mutual consent and recognises the concept of jointly acquired property, dividing it on separation, with distinctions between property brought into the marriage and property acquired during it. The 2015 Buddhist Women's Special Marriage Law, part of a package of race and religion statutes, imposes notice and objection procedures on interfaith marriages and has been criticised as discriminatory. Muslim family matters follow Islamic principles as applied by the courts, including talaq divorce and Quranic inheritance shares. Since 2021 court access has been uneven, and civil registration of marriages and births has been disrupted in conflict areas.

Civil and customary marriage with the Combating of Domestic Violence Act

Marriage may be civil or customary, and the Married Persons Equality Act 1 of 1996 abolished the husband's marital power. The Child Care and Protection Act 3 of 2015 modernised care proceedings. The Supreme Court's 2023 Digashu decision required recognition of same-sex marriages validly concluded abroad, and Parliament subsequently legislated against such recognition, leaving the question contested.

Family law is where Namibia's Article 66 dual system bites hardest, and where the constitutional supremacy clause has been used most actively — including to strike down rules of customary and statutory law that discriminated on grounds of sex.

Family Court with custom, and same-sex conduct decriminalised in 2016

Marriage and divorce under Nauruan statutes with a dedicated Family Court division, custom recognised in adoption and succession, and a notably progressive 2016 criminal code reform.

Family disputes are heard in the Family Court division of the District Court. Custom retains real force in adoption, which is common and has direct property consequences because adopted children take shares in fractional land interests. The Domestic Violence and Family Protection Act 2017 introduced protection orders and specialist police response. Nauru's Crimes Act 2016 reform, which accompanied these changes, decriminalised consensual same-sex conduct and modernised sexual offences — placing Nauru ahead of several larger neighbours, including Tuvalu and Solomon Islands, where colonial provisions remain.

2017 Civil Code unified family law and abolished separate personal codes

The Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017) governs marriage, divorce, adoption and succession for all Nepalis. Registration of marriage is required, and daughters have equal inheritance rights.

Equal coparcenary rights for daughters, established by earlier amendments and carried into the Code, ended a long-standing discrimination. Minimum marriage age is twenty for both parties. Divorce grounds differ somewhat between husband and wife, with the wife able to petition on grounds including the husband taking another spouse. Polygamy is a criminal offence. Same-sex marriages began to be registered following a 2023 Supreme Court interim order, ahead of legislation.

No-fault divorce through the court, and the country that first opened marriage to same-sex couples

Divorce is always granted by the court on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, with no need to prove fault. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to open civil marriage to same-sex couples, in 2001, and offers the registered partnership as a near-equivalent alternative.

A divorce petition must be filed by a lawyer, and where there are minor children the court will not proceed without an agreed parenting plan. Spousal and child maintenance are calculated using widely applied court guidelines (the Trema norms).

Equal sharing under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976

No-fault dissolution after two years' separation, and an equal-sharing regime under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 that applies to de facto partners after three years exactly as it does to spouses.

The separation period for dissolution is two years, longer than Australia's one. The Property (Relationships) Act creates a presumption of equal sharing of relationship property once a qualifying relationship has lasted three years, and de facto relationships — including same-sex relationships — are treated the same as marriage. The family home and chattels are relationship property regardless of who bought them, which regularly surprises people who assume pre-relationship ownership is protected. Contracting out is possible but requires independent legal advice and certification for each partner. Parenting orders under the Care of Children Act turn on the child's welfare and best interests, and Family Dispute Resolution mediation is normally required first.

The 2014 Family Code and specialised family courts

The Código de Familia (Ley 870), in force since 2015, consolidated family law and created dedicated Juzgados de Familia with oral procedure. It recognises unión de hecho estable and places the best interests of the child at the centre of custody decisions.

Unilateral divorce makes dissolution straightforward; the contested issues are property and maintenance. Ley 779's 2013 reform reintroduced mediation for some offences, which women's organisations argue weakens protection in practice.

No comprehensive family code; Islamic and customary law applied through Article 51

Niger has no unified family code. Personal status is governed by custom and Islamic law under a 1962 statute directing courts to apply the parties' custom, with polygamy permitted. Child marriage prevalence is the highest in the world.

Repeated attempts to enact a family code have failed against religious opposition, so Niger's courts apply the custom of the parties — Islamic law for most — with assessors advising on its content. The statutory marriage age remains 15 for girls under the retained Code civil provisions, and Niger has the world's highest rate of child marriage, an issue on which ECOWAS and treaty bodies have pressed reform.

Statutory, customary and Islamic marriage run in parallel with different consequences

The Matrimonial Causes Act governs statutory monogamous marriage and its dissolution on irretrievable breakdown. Customary and Islamic marriages are separately valid, may be polygynous, and are dissolved in customary or Sharia courts. Which regime applies determines succession, custody and property rights.

Nigeria recognises three marriage systems. A statutory marriage under the Marriage Act is monogamous and dissoluble only by the High Court under the Matrimonial Causes Act, which requires proof that the marriage has broken down irretrievably by reference to the facts listed in s.15(2), with a two-year separation ground among them. Customary marriage is potentially polygynous, formed by compliance with the relevant community's requirements including bride price, and dissolved in customary courts. Islamic marriage in the north is governed by Maliki fiqh as applied by Sharia courts. The regime chosen determines succession: statutory marriage attracts the Administration of Estates laws, customary marriage attracts customary succession, which historically disadvantaged widows until decisions such as Ukeje v Ukeje (2014) held that customary rules excluding daughters from inheritance violate s.42 of the Constitution. The Child Rights Act 2003 sets 18 as the age of marriage but is a federal law requiring state adoption, and a number of northern states have not adopted it.

A published family code operating within a songbun class system

The Family Law sets marriage ages and provides for divorce through the courts. In practice marriage and family life are heavily shaped by the songbun social classification.

The published code provides for monogamous marriage, joint marital property and divorce on the application of either spouse. Songbun, the inherited political-loyalty classification, is reported to influence permission to marry, place of residence and access to education and employment, which has no basis in the published text. UN human rights bodies have documented forced abortion and infanticide affecting women repatriated from China, and sexual violence by officials with no effective remedy. Reported practice therefore diverges sharply from the statute.

The Family Act with mediation and social-work involvement

The Family Act governs marriage, parental rights and maintenance, with divorce available by agreement or on petition. Social work centres and mediation play a substantial role in disputes about children.

Religious marriage has no civil effect: only civil registration creates a legally recognised marriage.

Gender-neutral marriage since 2009 and separation-based divorce

The Marriage Act has been gender-neutral since 2009. Divorce normally follows a period of separation, with the County Governor handling the administrative steps.

The County Governor (Statsforvalteren) issues the separation and divorce licences, so most divorces never reach a court.

Personal Status Law 1997 based on Ibadi and Sunni fiqh

The Personal Status Law of 1997 codifies marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance, drawing on Ibadi jurisprudence alongside Sunni schools.

Oman is the only state where Ibadi Islam is the majority tradition, and the 1997 code reflects Ibadi jurisprudence in places where Sunni or Shia codes would differ, so reasoning by analogy from Gulf neighbours is less reliable here than elsewhere. Marriage age is eighteen for both sexes with judicial exception. Custody of young children generally rests with the mother, guardianship with the father. Inheritance follows fixed sharia shares. Non-Muslims may have their own religious law applied in personal status matters.

Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 plus separate minority personal laws

Muslim family matters follow the 1961 Ordinance with divorce notified to the Union Council. Christians, Hindus and Parsis have their own statutes, and Hindu marriage was only given a federal statute in 2017.

Talaq requires written notice to the Union Council chairman and becomes effective ninety days later; failure to notify has generated substantial litigation about validity. A wife may obtain khula through the Family Court. Polygamy requires Arbitration Council permission. Child marriage restraint is legislated provincially — Sindh set eighteen for both sexes, while other provinces retain sixteen for girls, so the applicable minimum age genuinely depends on the province.

Statutory family law with customary marriage and clan adoption recognised

Marriage, divorce and custody are governed by the Palau National Code and heard in the Court of Common Pleas or Supreme Court, with customary marriage and adoption recognised.

Title 21 provides for marriage, judicial divorce, maintenance, custody and adoption, while customary marriage continues to be recognised and customary adoption within the clan is common. Because clan land rights descend matrilineally, decisions about lineage and adoption have direct property consequences, and family disputes frequently overlap with Land Court questions. The Family Protection Act 2012 was a significant reform, creating protection orders, mandatory police response and offences directed at domestic violence in place of reliance on general assault provisions and family mediation. Customary reconciliation and clan mediation remain influential in practice, particularly outside Koror, and courts may take account of customary settlement without treating it as displacing statutory remedies.

Sharia and church courts applying Jordanian and Egyptian-era codes

Personal status for Muslims follows the Jordanian Personal Status Law of 1976 in the West Bank and Egyptian-era family law in Gaza, administered by Sharia courts. Christian denominations administer their own.

This is another area where the territories diverge substantively: minimum marriage age, divorce grounds and maintenance rules differ between the 1976 Jordanian law and the 1954 Egyptian-derived Gaza rules. A 2019 decision of the Sharia Supreme Judge Department raised the marriage age to eighteen in the West Bank, later reinforced by decree-law, but Gaza did not follow. Palestine acceded to CEDAW without reservations in 2014, which created a formal obligation to harmonise personal status law with the Convention; the harmonisation has largely not happened, and the gap between treaty accession and domestic law is the honest position to state.

Family Code procedure in specialised courts

The 1994 Family Code created dedicated family courts and consolidated marriage, divorce, filiation and child protection. Panama does not recognise same-sex marriage; the Supreme Court rejected challenges in 2023, leaving it one of the few Latin American states without recognition following OC-24/17.

Foreign judgments in family matters need exequátur from the Supreme Court's Fourth Chamber. Marriages celebrated abroad are registered with the Tribunal Electoral, which holds the civil registry.

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.

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.

Código Civil marriage with de facto unions after four years

Marriage is governed by the Código Civil and Ley 1/1992 on the spouses' equal rights, which reformed the marital property regime. A unión de hecho between a man and a woman acquires marriage-equivalent effects after four years of stable cohabitation. Same-sex marriage is not recognised. Divorce was legalised in 1991 by Ley 45.

Paraguay legalised divorce comparatively late, in 1991, and Ley 1/1992 was the instrument that finally removed the husband's legal authority over the marital property and the wife's capacity. The Código de la Niñez created specialised children's courts and the CODENI municipal counselling offices, which handle maintenance and protection matters at local level.

Código Civil marriage, de facto unions and notarial separation

The Código Civil regulates marriage and the unión de hecho, which after two years of cohabitation between a man and a woman free to marry creates a community of property. Peru has not legalised same-sex marriage, though courts have ordered registration of some marriages celebrated abroad. Uncontested separation and subsequent divorce may proceed before a notary or municipality.

Ley 29227 created a genuinely administrative route out of marriage: where the couple agrees and there are no unresolved issues about children or assets, a notary or municipal authority can decree separation and then divorce without a judge. Ley 30364 established protective measures for domestic violence that family judges must issue within 72 hours of a report.

No divorce for most citizens; annulment and Shari'ah divorce are the routes

The Family Code provides no divorce for non-Muslim Filipinos, only annulment, declaration of nullity for psychological incapacity, and legal separation. Muslim Filipinos may divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws.

Article 36 nullity for psychological incapacity became the practical substitute for divorce, and the Supreme Court's 2021 Tan-Andal decision reframed it as a legal rather than strictly medical concept, removing the requirement of expert proof of a clinical condition and making petitions more attainable. Legal separation ends cohabitation and dissolves the property regime without dissolving the marriage, so remarriage remains barred. The default property regime for marriages after 1988 is absolute community of property. A foreign divorce validly obtained by a foreign spouse can be recognised, capacitating the Filipino spouse to remarry, which requires a separate judicial recognition action.

Family and Guardianship Code with joint marital property by default

The 1964 Family and Guardianship Code governs marriage, parentage and guardianship. Marriage creates a statutory community of property unless varied by notarial agreement, and divorce requires a complete and permanent breakdown of marital life.

Same-sex marriage and registered partnership are not available, and the Constitutional Tribunal has read Article 18 as limiting marriage to a man and a woman.

Administrative divorce by mutual consent and family and minors courts

Family law sits in the Civil Code. Divorce by mutual consent can be completed administratively at the civil registry, while contested divorce and disputes about children go to the family and minors courts.

Agreements on children, maintenance and the family home must be approved, and the public prosecutor reviews arrangements affecting minors.

Family Law 2006 codifying Hanbali-influenced personal status

Law 22 of 2006 codifies marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance for Muslims. Non-Muslims may have their own religious rules applied in some matters.

The 2006 codification put marriage age at eighteen for men and sixteen for women with judicial consent, required registration, and set out maintenance and custody rules in enacted form. Custody of young children usually goes to the mother while guardianship remains with the father, which is a distinction that causes practical difficulty in travel and schooling decisions and is frequently misunderstood as sole custody. Inheritance follows fixed sharia shares. Non-Muslims can in some circumstances have the personal law of their own community applied, so the applicable regime should be established at the outset.

The 1984 Family Code, permitting elected polygamy

Law 073-84 codified family law, allowing spouses to elect monogamy or polygamy at marriage and regulating dowry, filiation and succession. It remains one of the more comprehensive family codes in central Africa.

The 1984 Code is notable for regulating rather than abolishing dowry and polygamy, fixing the terms on which each operates instead of leaving them to custom — the characteristic central African compromise between codification and pluralism.

Family law inside the Civil Code with administrative divorce

The 2011 Civil Code absorbed the old Family Code. Where the spouses agree and there are no minor children, divorce may be pronounced by the civil registrar or a notary rather than a court, which made uncontested separation an administrative matter.

The Coman judgment obliges Romania to grant residence to the same-sex spouse of an EU citizen even though the marriage itself has no domestic effect, a gap the ECtHR criticised again in 2023.

The 1995 Family Code with registry divorce for childless couples

The Family Code of 1995 governs marriage, parentage and maintenance. Spouses without minor children who both consent may divorce at the registry office in one month, while all other cases go to the magistrate or district court.

Foreign same-sex marriages are not recognised, and the 2023 ban on legal gender recognition also blocked marriage and adoption for transgender people.

The 2016 Family Law with full spousal equality and monogamy only

Law 32/2016 governs persons and family, recognising only monogamous civil marriage and requiring an election of matrimonial property regime at marriage. Women have equal rights in succession under the 1999 inheritance law, a significant departure from prior custom.

Two features are distinctive. The minimum marriage age of 21 is among the highest anywhere. And the 1999 inheritance law gave daughters equal succession rights with sons — a change made in the aftermath of the genocide, when large numbers of women had no legal claim to the land of deceased male relatives, and one of the most consequential property reforms in the region.

Divorce Act with federal family jurisdiction

Divorce proceeds under the Divorce Act on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, shown by separation or conduct, and is heard in the High Court in either island. The Status of Children Act removes the disabilities of children born outside marriage, and the Domestic Violence Act provides protection orders through the Magistrate's Court. Maintenance is enforced by attachment of earnings or committal.

Family law is federal, so unlike property there is no separate Nevisian regime to check, though the practical question of which island's High Court sitting to use affects timing. Property adjustment on divorce follows contribution and beneficial ownership rather than a broad redistributive discretion, and where a Nevis asset protection trust holds family assets the interaction with a matrimonial claim is contentious and needs specialist advice.

Divorce Act with Civil Code rules on succession

Divorce is governed by the Divorce Act, with irretrievable breakdown shown most often by one year of separation. The Civil Status Act governs registration of marriages and births, and the Children (Care, Protection and Adoption) Act deals with children in need of protection. Succession is civilian, and the Civil Code imposes forced heirship style protection for certain heirs.

Succession is where the mixed system most surprises foreign advisers, because the Civil Code restricts complete freedom of testation and reserves shares for close heirs, so an English style will leaving everything to a spouse may be partly ineffective. Estate planning for Saint Lucian immovables therefore has to be done under the Code, whatever the testator's domicile.

Matrimonial Causes Act with Family Court jurisdiction

Divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act on the ground of irretrievable breakdown established by separation or conduct. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines established a Family Court to handle maintenance, custody, domestic violence and juvenile matters in a single forum, which is unusual in the Eastern Caribbean. The Status of Children Act equalises children born outside marriage.

The dedicated Family Court is a genuine procedural advantage, because maintenance, custody and protection applications are handled together by magistrates with family jurisdiction rather than dispersed across the ordinary Magistrate's Court list. Divorce itself remains in the High Court, so a separating couple will often have proceedings running in two forums at once.

Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Ordinance 1961 with village authority

Divorce under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Ordinance 1961, marriage under the Marriage Ordinance, and a family violence regime in the Family Safety Act 2013 heard in a dedicated Family Court.

The matrimonial statutes date from 1961 and retain fault-based elements alongside separation grounds, so Samoa has not followed Fiji into a purely no-fault system. The Family Safety Act 2013 introduced protection orders and was accompanied by the establishment of a Family Court division, which also handles youth matters. A distinctive interaction: village councils exercise real disciplinary authority under the Village Fono Act, and their decisions — including banishment, which the courts have reviewed and sometimes set aside as inconsistent with constitutional rights — can bear directly on family and residence disputes.

The 1986 family law reform with civil unions since 2018

Family relations rest on the 1986 reform of family law, which established spousal equality and judicial divorce. Civil unions for same-sex couples were introduced in 2018 with substantially equivalent effects.

Canonical marriages celebrated in San Marino need civil registration to produce civil effects, and nullity remains a separate canonical route.

Personal Status Law 2022 — the first codification of Saudi family law

Family law was applied directly from fiqh until the Personal Status Law of 2022 codified marriage, divorce, custody and maintenance for the first time.

The 2022 codification set a minimum marriage age of eighteen with judicial exception, required registration, and put custody and maintenance rules into enacted text with reasons for decisions. It also narrowed but did not eliminate male guardianship in the marriage contract. The practical significance is that a litigant can now read the rule that will be applied to them, which was not previously possible, and appeals can be argued from text rather than from competing fiqh authorities. As with the civil code, material predating 2022 describes a materially different regime.

Code de la famille 1972 permitting an election of monogamy or polygamy

The 1972 Code de la famille requires the husband to elect monogamy, limited polygamy or full polygamy at marriage, an election recorded and binding. Marriage age is 18 for men and 16 for women. Succession may be governed by either the Code's rules or Islamic law.

The 1972 Code's dual succession scheme is its most distinctive feature: an estate is distributed under the Code's civil rules unless the deceased opted for Islamic succession, in which case Maliki shares apply. That election, made during life, determines whether daughters inherit equally with sons, so establishing whether an option was exercised is the first question in a Senegalese succession dispute.

The Family Act with joint parental rights and protection against violence

The Family Act governs marriage, parental rights and maintenance, providing for divorce by consent or on petition. It contains a dedicated regime of protective measures against domestic violence.

Extramarital cohabitation is largely equated with marriage for maintenance and property, but not for all inheritance purposes.

Civil Code family law with the Children Act and no same-sex marriage

Marriage and matrimonial property follow the Civil Code as restated in 2020, with the Civil Status Act governing registration. The Children Act 1982 as amended addresses custody and maintenance. Same-sex conduct was decriminalised in 2016; same-sex marriage is not recognised.

The Family Tribunal is an accessible non-court forum for maintenance and custody, which handles the bulk of everyday family disputes, while divorce and matrimonial property remain with the Supreme Court applying Civil Code principles.

Statutory, customary, Muslim and Christian marriage, with 2007 reform statutes governing all four

Four marriage regimes coexist. The Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act 2007 brought customary marriage into a registration system and set 18 as the minimum age with consent requirements; the Devolution of Estates Act 2007 gave surviving spouses and children statutory inheritance rights against customary exclusion.

Marriage may be civil, Christian, Muslim or customary, and the applicable regime determines validity, polygyny and succession. The three 2007 'gender acts' were a significant reform package: the Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act requires registration of customary marriages and divorces, sets the minimum age at 18, and requires the consent of both parties, addressing forced and child marriage; the Devolution of Estates Act overrides discriminatory customary succession by granting the surviving spouse and children defined entitlements and protecting the widow's occupation of the matrimonial home; and the Domestic Violence Act criminalised domestic violence and created protection orders. The Child Right Act 2007 codifies the best-interests standard and prohibits child marriage, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024 strengthened penalties. Local courts in the provinces administer customary family law, and the interaction between their practice and the statutory reforms remains the practical difficulty.

A civil track and a separate Syariah track for Muslim marriages

The Women's Charter governs civil marriage and divorce, while the Administration of Muslim Law Act gives the Syariah Court jurisdiction over Muslim marriage, divorce and inheritance. Which track applies depends on the parties' religion, not their choice.

Civil divorce previously required proving a fact such as adultery, desertion or three years' separation, but a 2022 amendment added divorce by mutual agreement, in force from 2024. There is a three-year minimum marriage duration before filing, relaxed only for exceptional hardship. Matrimonial assets are divided on a just and equitable basis, with the courts giving real weight to non-financial contributions; there is no presumption of equality. Maintenance may be ordered for a wife or an incapacitated husband. On the Syariah side, divorce mechanisms including talak apply, and the Court applies Shafi'i principles with statutory overlays.

Family Act divorce with mandatory child arrangements

The 2005 Family Act governs marriage, parentage and maintenance. Divorce requires the court to find that relations are seriously disturbed and permanently broken, and the court must simultaneously decide custody and maintenance for minor children.

Because custody and maintenance are decided with the divorce, agreeing them in advance and asking the court to approve the agreement is much faster than contesting.

The 2017 Family Code, marriage equality and consensual divorce before a notary

The Family Code of 2017 modernised family law, and marriage was opened to same-sex couples following a 2022 Constitutional Court decision. Childless spouses can divorce by agreement before a notary.

Where minor children are involved, a court must approve arrangements and social services prepare a report.

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.

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.

Sharia and xeer govern family life; the 1975 Family Code is largely inoperative

The Family Code of 1975 remains on the books but is not generally applied. Marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance are governed by Islamic law and clan custom, administered through religious and customary forums.

The 1975 Family Code was an ambitious secularising statute — equal inheritance shares, restrictions on polygamy, minimum marriage ages — and it was resisted at the time and has not been meaningfully applied since 1991. The operative law is Islamic personal status as interpreted locally, alongside xeer, the customary clan law under which compensation and settlement are negotiated between lineages rather than between individuals. That structure matters for a specific reason: in xeer, harm is a matter between groups and settled by diya compensation, so individual complainants, particularly women in sexual violence cases, may find matters resolved by inter-clan payment or forced marriage rather than by prosecution. A Sexual Offences Bill drafted in 2018 to address this was not enacted and a competing bill was proposed that would have weakened protections. FGM prevalence is among the highest in the world despite constitutional prohibition.

Three recognised marriage regimes, and same-sex marriage since 2006

South Africa recognises civil marriages, civil unions and customary marriages, each with its own formalities and property consequences. It was the first African state to open marriage to same-sex couples, following the Constitutional Court's decision in Fourie and the resulting Civil Union Act 17 of 2006. Default matrimonial property is in community of property unless an antenuptial contract is registered before the marriage.

The distinctive difficulty in South African family law is the interaction of the three regimes with living customary law. Recognition in 1998 gave customary marriages full legal status, but questions of property, succession and the validity of later civil marriages generated sustained litigation — Gumede, Ramuhovhi and Bhe each struck down discriminatory rules. Practitioners must therefore establish which regime governs a given union, and when, before advising on property or inheritance at all.

Judicial confirmation required even for divorce by agreement

Family matters are heard by specialist family courts. Even an agreed divorce needs judicial confirmation, and a statutory reflection period applies before it can be granted.

The patriarchal hoju household-head register was abolished in 2008 following a Constitutional Court ruling and replaced with individual family registers. Same-sex marriage is not recognised, although a 2024 Supreme Court decision extended national health insurance dependent coverage to a same-sex partner. Marital property is separate in principle, but division on divorce is based on contribution and routinely produces a substantial award to a non-earning spouse. Both parents retain parental authority unless the court orders otherwise, and child support follows published guideline tables.

Customary law governs most marriage and inheritance, with no unified family code

There is no comprehensive statutory family code; marriage, divorce, bridewealth and inheritance are governed largely by the customary law of the parties' communities, applied in customary courts.

South Sudan is the clearest case in this batch of the atlas's default assumption failing: there is no family code to summarise, and the operative law is the customary law of a specific community, applied by chiefs' courts under the Local Government Act. Bridewealth in cattle is central to marriage validity and to the consequences of divorce, and disputes about it are among the most common matters litigated anywhere in the country. The constitution guarantees equality and sets 18 as the age of majority in the Child Act, and those provisions conflict in practice with customary early marriage, which remains prevalent; where the conflict is litigated the constitutional provision has sometimes prevailed, but not uniformly. Because the content of the applicable law varies by community and is not codified, a single national statement of family law would be false, which is why this is research.

No-fault divorce, shared custody trends and regional civil law

Marriage and divorce are governed by the Civil Code, which since 2005 allows divorce after three months without proving fault. Several autonomous communities have their own civil law on matrimonial property and succession, which can displace the Code.

Identify the applicable regional civil law early: Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, the Basque Country, Galicia and the Balearics have distinct rules.

Four parallel personal-law regimes determined by community

Sri Lanka applies the general law to most people, but Kandyan law to Sinhalese from the former Kandyan provinces, Thesawalamai to Tamils of the Jaffna region, and Muslim law to Muslims. The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act has no statutory minimum marriage age and reserves Quazi court office to men, both long-standing reform controversies.

General marriages register under the Marriage Registration Ordinance; Muslim marriages under the MMDA. Quazi courts, not District Courts, hear Muslim marriage and divorce matters. Kandyan law recognises diga and binna marriage forms with different property consequences. Thesawalamai imposes spousal consent requirements on the disposal of certain property. Which regime applies turns on community and, for Thesawalamai, on Jaffna habitual residence — this is a threshold question, not a detail. General-law divorce requires a fault ground: adultery, malicious desertion or incurable impotency.

The 1991 Muslim Personal Status Act, partly reformed in 2020

The Personal Status of Muslims Act 1991 governs marriage, divorce and succession for Muslims, with separate arrangements for non-Muslims. A 2020 reform criminalised FGM and repealed the public-order and apostasy provisions.

The 1991 Act codifies a Maliki-influenced personal status law with guardianship in marriage, permitted polygamy and fixed succession shares. The July 2020 amendments were the most substantial liberalisation in a generation: female genital mutilation was criminalised, the apostasy offence was repealed, public flogging as a punishment was abolished for most offences, and the requirement that women obtain male permission to travel with children was removed. Those changes were made by the transitional authorities and their durability after the 2021 coup and the 2023 war is exactly what cannot be verified, since enforcement depends on functioning courts and prosecutors. The minimum age of marriage under the 1991 Act remains low, tied to puberty rather than to a fixed age, and reform of that provision was pending rather than enacted.

Burgerlijk Wetboek marriage with a separate Asian Marriage Act

Marriage and divorce follow the Burgerlijk Wetboek, with divorce available on breakdown. Suriname historically maintained the Aziatische Huwelijkswet, a separate marriage regime for Hindu and Muslim communities, reflecting its plural population. Same-sex marriage is not recognised, though Suriname decriminalised same-sex conduct in 2015.

The parallel Asian Marriage Act is a distinctive legacy of indentured migration from India and Java, providing registration routes recognising religious ceremonies, and legislation has progressively harmonised its effects with the general civil regime. The 2009 domestic-violence statute introduced protection orders and mandatory police response, and the 2015 repeal of the sodomy provision aligned Suriname with most of South America.

Gender-neutral marriage since 2009 and simple no-fault divorce

The Marriage Code has been gender-neutral since 2009. Divorce is no-fault and often immediate, though a six-month reconsideration period applies where a child lives at home or one spouse objects.

Where no children are involved and both agree, a Swedish divorce can be granted quickly on a simple joint application.

Marriage for all since 2022, and divorce by joint request or after separation

Swiss family law is federal, in the Civil Code. Marriage was opened to same-sex couples on 1 July 2022, and from that date no new registered partnerships are created. Divorce is granted on joint request, or unilaterally after living apart for at least two years.

Couples in an existing registered partnership can convert it to a marriage but are not required to. Maintenance and pension-sharing on divorce are calculated federally, while enforcement and some procedural steps run through cantonal courts.

The Personal Status Law 1953, amended in 2019, with courts by religious community

Personal status for Muslims follows the Personal Status Law of 1953, significantly amended by Law No. 4 of 2019. Christian and Jewish communities apply their own law through their own tribunals.

The 2019 amendments were the most substantial in decades: they raised the marriage age to eighteen for both sexes, removed the guardian's power to compel or veto in some circumstances, tightened judicial control over polygamy by requiring proof of capacity and a lawful justification, and improved a mother's position on custody and travel with children. They did not remove the underlying structure in which divorce by talaq remains available to husbands. Documentation is the acute practical problem: marriages and births in areas outside government control were often registered by other authorities or not at all, and retroactive registration is a major workload.

Portuguese-derived family law with recognised de facto unions

Family law follows the received Portuguese Civil Code as amended nationally, providing for monogamous civil marriage and recognising the união de facto. The Lei sobre a Violência Doméstica e Familiar (Lei 11/2008) addresses domestic violence, and same-sex conduct has never been criminalised in the post-independence code.

Because the country retains the Portuguese Civil Code's family book with national amendments rather than a separate family code, São Toméan family law reads closer to Portuguese doctrine than to the standalone family codes adopted in Angola and Mozambique.

Marriage age 18 with polygamy criminalised

The Family Code sets the marriage age at 18 for both sexes after a 2010 amendment removed the lower threshold. Polygamy is a criminal offence, though unregistered religious marriage persists.

A medical examination and a pre-marital waiting period are required before registration. Religious nikah without civil registration leaves a wife without property or inheritance rights, which is the main practical problem the criminal provisions on polygamy and unregistered marriage target. Marital property is community property divided equally in principle. The 2013 family violence law created protection orders and police duties, but implementation gaps and the absence of a standalone criminal offence of domestic violence are repeatedly noted by treaty bodies.

The Law of Marriage Act 1971, an early unifying statute

The Law of Marriage Act 1971 was among the first African statutes to bring civil, customary, Christian and Islamic marriage under one framework. It permits monogamous and polygamous marriage by election, requires conciliation before divorce, and recognises non-monetary contribution to matrimonial property.

The 1971 Act was ahead of its time in requiring compulsory conciliation and in treating a wife's domestic contribution as contribution to matrimonial property. Its unresolved problem is the minimum age: the Act permitted marriage at 14 with leave, and although the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling striking that down in 2019, the statutory text has still not been amended to reflect it.

Civil and Commercial Code family rules, with marriage equality from January 2025

Book V of the Civil and Commercial Code governs marriage, divorce and children. The Marriage Equality Act, effective 22 January 2025, replaced gendered terms with neutral ones, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian state with full same-sex marriage.

Divorce by mutual consent is registered at the amphur with two witnesses, which makes it unusually quick; contested divorce requires a statutory ground such as adultery, desertion for over a year, serious harm or three years' separation. Property acquired during marriage is sin somros and split equally, while pre-marital and inherited property remains sin suan tua. Parental power is shared, and courts decide custody on the child's welfare with no formal maternal presumption. The 2025 Act equalised adoption and inheritance rights for same-sex spouses; surrogacy remains restricted to Thai married couples under the 2015 protection statute.

Matrimonial Causes Act with fault and separation grounds

Divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1879 as amended, which retains fault grounds including adultery and cruelty alongside separation for at least five years. Financial provision and property adjustment follow on from the decree, and maintenance is available for spouses and children. The Child Protection Act 2007 and the Status of Children Act govern children's welfare and legitimacy.

The Bahamas is unusual in the region for retaining a five-year separation period, materially longer than the one or two years common elsewhere, which is why fault grounds are still pleaded routinely rather than as a last resort. There is no statutory property regime for cohabitants, so an unmarried partner must fall back on trust and equitable claims to establish a beneficial interest.

Civil Code family law coexisting with customary practice

The Civil Code of 2011 governs marriage, divorce, filiation and succession. Customary marriage under barlake and related traditional practices remains widespread, and the interaction between registered civil marriage and customary union is the central practical question in most family matters.

A civil marriage must be registered to produce full legal effects, including in succession. Many unions are contracted customarily and never registered, which creates real difficulty for inheritance and for establishing spousal status. The Civil Code recognises de facto unions in limited respects. Divorce is available by mutual consent or on fault and breakdown grounds. Village-level mediation through the suco councils resolves a large share of family disputes without ever reaching a court, and the formal law does not displace those processes so much as sit above them.

Code des personnes et de la famille 2012 setting marriage age at 18 for both sexes

Loi n° 2012-014 set a uniform marriage age of 18, permits polygamy only where elected at marriage, and improved the position of surviving spouses in succession. Customary marriage has civil effect if registered.

The 2012 Code equalised the marriage age and, importantly for succession practice, gave the surviving spouse a defined share where customary rules had often excluded widows in favour of the husband's lineage. Because customary marriage is recognised on registration, and many are never registered, widows' claims still frequently turn on proving the marriage existed.

Divorce Act with strong statutory succession rules for land

Marriage under the Birth, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, divorce under the Divorce Act, and family violence addressed by the Family Protection Act 2013 with protection orders.

The Divorce Act retains fault grounds and has not been modernised into a no-fault regime. The Family Protection Act 2013 was the significant reform, creating police safety orders and court protection orders. What distinguishes Tongan family law from its neighbours is the property consequence: because land cannot be owned or sold, it cannot be divided on divorce in the way a matrimonial home is elsewhere, and succession to allotments follows the statutory line rather than a will or a court's discretion. A widow's rights in her late husband's allotment are governed by the Land Act and are conditional, which has been criticised as discriminatory and is a recurring subject of law-reform debate.

Cohabitational Relationships Act alongside the Matrimonial Proceedings Act

Divorce and financial relief are governed by the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act, with irretrievable breakdown as the ground and separation as the usual evidence. The Cohabitational Relationships Act 1998 gives a cohabitant of at least five years, or less where there is a child, the right to apply for property adjustment and maintenance. Children's matters are dealt with under the Family and Children Division of the High Court, created by the Family and Children Division Act 2016.

The two-year limit on a cohabitant's application is far shorter than the position for spouses and is the most common way a meritorious claim is lost, particularly where the parties separated informally without advice. The 2016 Division reforms also introduced a more inquisitorial, less adversarial procedure for children's cases, with an emphasis on early social-welfare input.

The 1956 Code of Personal Status, the earliest and furthest-reaching reform

The Code of Personal Status abolished polygamy outright in 1956, required judicial divorce, and set a minimum marriage age. It remains the most liberal personal status regime in the Arab world.

Tunisia is the outlier in the Arab world because the 1956 Code prohibited polygamy as a criminal offence rather than regulating it, and required all divorce to pass through a court, removing unilateral talaq. Those two choices were made at independence and have held. The 1993 amendments removed the wife's duty of obedience and gave mothers a role in guardianship. Inheritance remains the principal area where Quranic shares still produce unequal outcomes: a 2018 bill for equal inheritance was introduced and not enacted, so the unequal shares remain the law, and describing Tunisia as having achieved full equality in family law overstates it. Adoption is permitted, which is unusual in the region and follows from the same 1958 reform tradition.

Swiss-derived civil marriage with no religious jurisdiction

The Civil Code No. 4721 of 2001 governs marriage, divorce and succession. Turkey recognises only civil marriage registered before a state official; religious ceremonies have no legal effect on their own. Family courts hear matrimonial disputes.

Turkish family law derives from the Swiss Civil Code received in 1926, which abolished religious family jurisdiction entirely — a defining feature that distinguishes Turkey sharply from most of its neighbours. The 2001 Code introduced the participation in acquired property regime as the default matrimonial property regime for marriages from 2002, so the applicable regime depends on the marriage date. Divorce grounds include adultery, cruelty, desertion and irretrievable breakdown. Law No. 6284 provides for preventive and protective orders issued rapidly by courts and, in urgent cases, administrators, and it is the principal instrument on domestic violence.

A 2012 Family Code setting marriage age 18 with a foreign-marriage fee

The Family Code sets the marriage age at 18 and provides for community of marital property. A state fee and conditions historically applied to marriages between citizens and foreigners.

The requirement that a foreign national pay a state fee and meet residence and housing conditions to marry a Turkmen citizen has been the most-reported feature of this area, drawing criticism as a restriction on the right to marry. Same-sex relations between men remain criminalised, which is unusual even within the region and is raised in every treaty-body cycle. Marital property is joint and divided in principle equally. Domestic violence is not a distinct criminal offence and no specific protection-order regime is published.

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.

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.

Multiple marriage statutes with no unified code

Uganda has never enacted a unified marriage law: the Marriage Act, Customary Marriages (Registration) Act, Marriage and Divorce of Mohammedans Act and Hindu Marriage and Divorce Act operate in parallel. The Constitutional Court struck down discriminatory divorce grounds in Uganda Association of Women Lawyers v Attorney General.

The absence of a unified statute means Ugandan family law is genuinely fragmented by religion and custom, and the courts rather than parliament have done the equalising work — most notably in striking down the Divorce Act's provision that gave husbands and wives different grounds for divorce. A Marriage and Divorce Bill has been before parliament in various forms since the 1960s without enactment.

The 2002 Family Code with wartime remote marriage

The Family Code of 2002 governs marriage, parentage and maintenance. Marriage creates joint ownership of property acquired during it, and since 2022 service members may marry remotely by video, with the marriage recorded by the civil registry.

Same-sex marriage is constitutionally excluded, and a registered partnership bill remains pending, so partners of service members still rely on ad hoc powers of attorney and wills.

Sharia personal status, plus a parallel civil family law for non-Muslims

Personal status for Muslims follows sharia. Since 2022 non-Muslims can use a separate civil family law, first in Abu Dhabi and then federally, covering civil marriage, no-fault divorce and equal custody.

The UAE now runs two genuinely different family law regimes in parallel, and which one applies turns on the religion of the parties rather than on their choice. The non-Muslim civil regime introduced no-fault divorce, equal joint custody as the default, and civil marriage without a religious ceremony or guardian consent, none of which exist in the sharia track. Abu Dhabi's Civil Family Court hears these matters in English. For Muslims the 2022 Personal Status Law remains sharia-based on guardianship, inheritance and custody. Advice given without first establishing which regime applies is likely to be wrong on every material point.

No-fault divorce since 2022 and civil partnerships for all

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 introduced no-fault divorce in England and Wales in 2022. Same-sex marriage has been available since 2014, and civil partnerships are open to all couples.

There is no community of property; financial outcomes turn on judicial discretion, which makes early legal advice valuable.

State family law, no-fault divorce everywhere and community property in nine states

Family law is state law, and the federal role is confined to interstate enforcement and constitutional limits. Every state now offers no-fault divorce on irretrievable breakdown or irreconcilable differences. Property division splits into two systems: nine community-property states treat marital acquisitions as jointly owned in equal shares, while the rest apply equitable distribution, which is discretionary rather than equal.

The community-property line matters far beyond divorce: it affects the tax basis of assets on death and how creditors reach marital property, and it means an identical marriage produces materially different outcomes in California and New York. Obergefell v Hodges requires every state to license and recognise same-sex marriage, and the Respect for Marriage Act 2022 added a federal statutory recognition guarantee that does not depend on that decision standing.

Equal marriage since 2013 and unión concubinaria since 2008

Ley 19.075 opened marriage to same-sex couples in 2013, following Ley 18.246 of 2008 which created the unión concubinaria, recognised judicially after five years of cohabitation regardless of the partners' sex. Divorce is available including by the wife's sole will under a long-standing provision, and Uruguay legalised abortion in 2012 and adoption by same-sex couples in 2009.

Uruguay was an early regional mover on family-law equality, legislating same-sex marriage in 2013 through Parliament rather than by judicial decision, which contrasts with Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica where courts led. The Civil Code's provision permitting divorce on the sole will of the wife, dating to 1907, is a historically remarkable feature that predates comparable no-fault mechanisms elsewhere by decades.

Marriage age equalised at 18 in 2019

The Family Code sets 18 as the marriage age for both sexes after a 2019 amendment removed the lower age for women. Marital property is community property.

The 2019 equalisation of the marriage age at 18 ended a long-criticised distinction. Medical examination before marriage is required. Religious nikah without civil registration remains common and leaves spouses without enforceable property rights, and polygamy is a criminal offence. The 2019 statute on harassment and violence created protection orders, and domestic violence was made a distinct criminal offence in 2023, closing a gap treaty bodies had raised for years. Divorce for couples with minor children requires a court and a reconciliation attempt.

Family Protection Act 2008 with custom marriage and Island Courts

Marriage under the Marriage Act with customary marriage recognised, divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act, and a landmark domestic violence regime in the Family Protection Act 2008.

The Family Protection Act 2008 was significant beyond Vanuatu: it created protection orders issuable by registered authorised persons in communities, not only by courts, which addresses the practical problem of access to justice across scattered islands. Its constitutionality was challenged and upheld. Customary marriage is recognised and bride-price is customary in much of the country, which interacts awkwardly with statutory divorce and maintenance. Island Courts, which sit with custom chiefs as members, handle many family and custom matters at first instance, and their composition is part of why custom and statute are not cleanly separable here.

Código Civil marriage with constitutionally recognised de facto unions

Marriage and divorce are governed by the Código Civil. Article 77 of the Constitution recognises stable de facto unions between a man and a woman as producing the same effects as marriage. Same-sex marriage is not available. Children's matters are governed by the LOPNNA, which established specialised protection courts and councils.

The Sala Constitucional expanded divorce access considerably in decisions from 2014 and 2015, holding that the statutory list of grounds was not exhaustive and that irretrievable breakdown asserted by one spouse could suffice, effectively creating a judicial no-fault route without legislative amendment. The LOPNNA system, with its councils of protection alongside courts, is a notable child-protection architecture in the region.

Law on Marriage and Family with same-sex marriage unrecognised but not penalised

The 2014 Law on Marriage and Family sets a marriage age of 20 for men and 18 for women and treats property acquired in marriage as common. The 2014 revision removed the prohibition on same-sex weddings while withholding legal recognition.

Divorce may be by mutual request, which the court still confirms, or on the application of one spouse where the marriage is in a serious state and the purposes of marriage cannot be achieved. Common property is presumed to be split equally, adjusted for contributions, family circumstances and the interests of minor children, and household labour counts as contribution. Prenuptial agreements have been permitted since 2014 if notarised before marriage. Custody follows the child's interests, with children under 36 months normally placed with the mother unless she is unsuitable, and children over seven must be consulted.

Personal Status Law 1992, amended to remove a minimum marriage age

The Personal Status Law of 1992 governs marriage, divorce and custody on a sharia basis. A 1999 amendment removed the statutory minimum marriage age.

The 1999 amendment removed the minimum marriage age of fifteen that the 1992 law had set, leaving no statutory floor, and repeated legislative attempts to restore one have failed. This is the single most consequential feature of Yemeni family law and child marriage rates are among the highest recorded. Guardianship rests with the father, polygyny is permitted, and unilateral divorce by the husband is available while a wife's route to dissolution is narrower. Inheritance follows fixed sharia shares. Displacement caused by the conflict has made registration and proof of marriage and parentage a widespread practical problem.

Statutory and customary marriage with the Children's Code Act 2022

Marriage may be statutory, under the Marriage Act, or customary. Statutory marriage is monogamous; customary marriage may be polygynous and requires no registration. The Children's Code Act 12 of 2022 consolidated child law and set 18 as the age of marriage, though customary practice below that age persists.

Local Courts, staffed by lay adjudicators applying customary law, handle the large majority of Zambian family disputes, so the operative family law for most people is customary law as administered at that level rather than the Matrimonial Causes Act.

Marriages Act 2022 consolidating civil and customary marriage and banning child marriage

The Marriages Act (Chapter 5:15), 2022 consolidated the previously separate civil and customary marriage statutes, set 18 as the minimum age for all marriages following the Constitutional Court's decision in Mudzuru, and recognised unregistered customary unions for limited purposes. Civil marriage is monogamous; registered customary marriage may be polygynous.

Mudzuru v Minister of Justice (2016) is the leading case: the Constitutional Court held that any law permitting marriage under 18 was unconstitutional, and the 2022 Act implements that ruling across both the civil and the customary regimes simultaneously.