By Levy Masiteng
The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has ruled that South African law places customary and civil marriages on an equal legal footing, affirming the transformative purpose of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, and confirming that antenuptial contracts concluded after a customary marriage are legally valid.
In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, the Court found that antenuptial contracts (ANCs) concluded after a customary marriage are not, on their own, sufficient to change a couple’s matrimonial property regime, providing clarity on the complex interaction between customary and civil marriages.
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The ConCourt declined to confirm a Gauteng High Court ruling that had declared section 10(2) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act unconstitutional, holding instead that the provision is constitutionally sound when properly interpreted.
“The Recognition Act was enacted to remedy the historical marginalisation of customary
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