The Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, intends to introduce the Marriage Bill 2023 in the National Assembly.

As per the rules of the National Assembly, an explanatory summary of the Bill has also been published.

The Bill seeks to do the following:

• Rationalise the marriage laws pertaining to various types of marriages;

• Provide for the recognition of marriages;

• Provide for the requirements for monogamous and polygamous marriages;

• Provide for the designation of marriage officers;

• Provide for the solemnisation of marriages;

• Provide for matters incidental thereto.

Following approval from Cabinet, the Department of Home Affairs published the Draft Marriage Bill of 2022 for public comment in July 2023.

The revised Marriage Bill 2023 is yet to be published, and despite some likely similarities, it may have some amendments from the Draft Marriage Bill of 2022 following the consultation process.

The Draft Bill gave effect to the White Paper on Marriages in South Africa, which was approved by the Cabinet in March 2022.

“The Bill empowers the Department of Home Affairs to develop a single Marriage Act for the country,” the Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, previously said.

“The Bill seeks to ensure that all marriages are concluded in accordance with the principles of equality, non-discrimination and human dignity as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.”

Currently, marriages in South Africa are regulated through three separate pieces of legislation:

• The Marriage Act – for the monogamous marriage of opposite-sex couples.

• The Recognition of Customary Marriages – for polygamous marriages of opposite-sex couples.

• The Civil Union Act – for monogamous partnerships for same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

In essence, the new Bill will bring all marriage legislation under one roof and address any weaknesses in the current legislation.

The Bill will still need to go through several regulatory steps before becoming law and will need approval from the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the Presdient.

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