|
CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
(REGISTRATION) LAW, 1985 (PNDCL
112)
As amended
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
PART I—REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY
MARRIAGE
1. Registration of Customary
Marriage.
2. Application for Registration
for Customary Marriage.
3. Statutory Declaration.
4. Registrar to Register Customary
Marriage.
5. Objection to Registration of
Customary Marriage.
PART II—REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY
DIVORCE
6. Registration of Customary
Divorce.
7. Registrar to be Notified of
Divorce.
8. Objection.
PART III—MISCELLANEOUS
9. Certified Copies of Entries in
Register.
10. Objections to be Heard in
Chambers.
11. Searches.
12. Correction of Errors in
Register.
13. Certified True Copies of
Entries Admissible as Evidence.
14. Offences.
15. Application of Intestate
Succession Law, 1985.
16. Regulations.
17. Interpretation.
18. Existing Bye-laws to Cease to
Have Effect.
19. Commencement.
SCHEDULES
First Schedule
Second Schedule
Third Schedule
IN pursuance of the Provisional
National Defence Council
(Establishment) Proclamation,
1981, this Law is hereby made:
PART I—REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY
MARRIAGE
Section 1—Registration of
Customary Marriage.
On the commencement of this Law
any marriage contracted under
customary law before or after such
commencement may be registered in
accordance with the following
provisions. [As amended by
Customary Marriage amd Divorce
(Registration) (Amendment) Law
1991 (PNDCL) 263 s. 1]
Section 2—Application for
Registration for Customary
Marriage.
(1) Where a marriage has been
contracted under customary law,
either party to the marriage or
both parties may apply in writing
to the Registrar of Marriages
(referred to in this Law as "the
Registrar") of the District in
which the marriage was contracted
for the registration of the
marriage in the register of
marriages in this Law referred to
as the "register". [As amended by
Customary Marriage and Divorce
(Registration) (Amendment) Law
1991 (PNDCL 263) s. 2 (a)].
(2) Application for the
registration of the marriage may
be made at any time after the
marriage except that the Secretary
for Justice may at any time
prescribe periods within which
failure to register customary
marriages contracted before or
after the commencement of this Law
shall be an offence". [As
substituted by Customary Marriage
and Divorce Registration
(Amendment) Law 1991 (PNDCL 263)
s. 2 (b)].
(3) The form of the register shall
be as set out in the First
Schedule to this Law.
Section 3—Statutory Declaration.
(1) The application for
registration of the marriage shall
be accompanied by a statutory
declaration stating the
following:—
(a) names of the parties to the
marriage;
(b) the places of residence of the
parties at the time of the
marriage;
(c) that the conditions essential
to the validity of the marriage in
accordance with the applicable
customary law have been complied
with.
(2) The statutory declaration
shall be supported by the parents
of the spouses or persons standing
in loco parentis to the spouses
except where there are no such
persons living at the time of
application for registration.
Section 4—Registrar to Register
Customary Marriage.
(1) The Registrar, shall upon
receipt of an application for the
registration of a marriage,
register the marriage and shall by
notice in the form set out in the
Second Schedule to this Law notify
the public of the registration of
the marriage.
(2) The notice shall be displayed
on a public notice board in the
office of the Registrar within
twenty-eight days of the
application for registration.
Section 5—Objection to
Registration of Customary
Marriage.
(1) Any person who knows of any
cause why the Registrar should not
have registered the marriage, or
objects to the validity of the
marriage under the applicable
customary law, may at any time
after the publication of the
notice by the Registrar under
section 4 of this Law, file the
grounds of his objection in the
District Court in the District in
which the marriage was registered.
(2) Copies of the grounds of
objection shall be served on the
parties affected by the objection.
(3) If upon the hearing of the
grounds of objection the District
Court is satisfied that there are
no legal grounds for the objection
the Court shall dismiss the
objection.
(4) If the District Court, upon
hearing the grounds of the
objection, is satisfied that there
are legal grounds for the
objection the Court shall make an
order empowering the Registrar to
expunge any entries made in the
register in respect of the
registration of the marriage to
which the objection was made.
PART II—REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY
DIVORCE
Section 6—Registration of
Customary Divorce.
(1) The dissolution of any
marriage registered under this Law
shall be recorded by the Registrar
of the District in the register of
divorces (referred to in this Law
as the "register") which shall be
in the form set out in the Third
Schedule to this Law.
(2) The provisions of subsection
(1) of this section shall not
apply to any marriage dissolved
under section 41 of the
Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act
367).
Section 7—Registrar to be Notified
of Divorce.
(1) Where a marriage registered
under this Law has been dissolved
in accordance with the applicable
customary law, the parties
may within such period of the
dissolution of the marriage as the
Secretary for Justice may
prescribe, notify the Registrar of
the District in which the marriage
was registered of the
dissolution.[As substituted by
Customary Marriage and Divorce
(Registration) (Amendment) Law
1991,, (PNDCL 263) s. 3].
(2) The parties in notifying the
Registrar shall make a statutory
declaration stating that the
marriage has been dissolved in
accordance with the applicable
customary law.
(3) The statutory declaration
shall be supported by the parents
of the spouses or persons standing
in loco parentis living at the
time of application.
(4) The Registrar may, upon
receipt of such notification
record in the register the
dissolution of the marriage and
may by notice in the form set out
in the Second Schedule to this Law
notify the public of the
registration of the dissolution of
the marriage.
(5) The notice shall be displayed
on a public notice board in the
office of the Registrar within
twenty-eight days of the receipt
of such notification.
Section 8—Objection.
(1) Any person who knows of any
cause why the Registrar should not
have registered the dissolution of
the marriage, or objects to the
validity of the dissolution of the
marriage under the applicable
customary law, may at any time
after the publication of the
notice under section 7 of this Law
file the grounds of his objection
in the District Court in the
District in which the dissolution
of the marriage in question was
registered.
(2) Copies of the grounds of
objection shall be served on the
parties affected by the objection.
(3) If upon the hearing of the
grounds of objection the District
Court is satisfied that there are
no legal grounds for the objection
the Court shall dismiss the
objection.
(4) If the District Court upon
hearing the grounds of objection
is satisfied that there are legal
grounds for the objection the
Court shall make an order
empowering the Registrar to
expunge any entries made in the
register in respect of the
dissolution of the marriage.
PART III—MISCELLANEOUS
Section 9—Certified Copies of
Entries in Register.
Upon the registration of any
marriage or the dissolution of any
marriage the Registrar shall issue
to the parties concerned a
certified true copy of the entry
in the register upon payment of a
registration fee prescribed under
this Law.
Section 10—Objections to be Heard
in Chambers.
The grounds of any objection filed
in the District Court under
section 5 or 8 of this Law shall
be heard in chambers.
Section 11—Searches.
The Registrar shall at all
reasonable times allow searches to
be made of the register and shall
furnish on request and upon
payment of a fee prescribed under
this Law a certified true copy of
any entry in the register.
Section 12—Correction of Errors in
Register.
Any clerical error in a register
may, if discovered at the time of
making the entry, be corrected by
the Registrar and no other entry
shall be corrected nor any
alteration made in the register
except on the application by the
person by whom the information is
furnished to the Registrar.
Section 13—Certified True Copies
of Entries Admissible as Evidence.
In any proceedings a true copy of
the entry in the register
certified under the hand of the
Registrar shall be admissible in
evidence as sufficient proof of
the registration of the marriage
or the dissolution of the
marriage.
Section 14—Offences.
Any person who—
(a) applies to the Registrar for
the registration of any customary
law marriage or dissolution
thereof which he knows has not
been lawfully contracted or
dissolved under the applicable
customary law;
(b) knowingly makes any false
entry in the register or a
certified copy thereof; or
(c) with intent to defraud alters
any entry in the register or
certified copy thereof,
shall be guilty of an offence and
liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding ¢10,000.00 or
to imprisonment not exceeding
three years or both.
[As amended by Customary Marriage
and Divorce (Registration)
(Amendment) Law 1991 PNDCL 263 s.
4].
Section 15—Application of
Intestate Succession Law, 1985.
(1) The provisions of the
Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL
111) shall apply to any spouse of
a customary law marriage
registered under this Law.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)
of this section, where a court or
tribunal is satisfied by oral or
documentary evidence before it
that a customary law marriage had
been validly contracted between a
deceased and a surviving spouse,
the court or tribunal shall make
an order for the estate of the
intestate to be distributed in the
same manner as a customary law
marriage registered under this
Law.[As substituted by Customary
Marriage and Divorce Registration
(Amendment) Law 1991 PNDCL 263 s.
5].
Section 16—Regulations.
The Secretary responsible for
Justice may by legislative
instrument—
(a) prescribe the periods within
which customary marriages
contracted before or after the
commencement of this Law shall be
registered;
(b) prescribe the periods within
which dissolution of such
marriages shall be registered;
(c) specify offences and penalties
for breach of any provision of
this Law or regulations made
thereunder;
(d) prescribe such fee as he may
deem fit, and generally make
provision for the full
implementation of this Law. [As
substituted by Customary Marriage
and Divorce Registration
(Amendment) Law 1991 PNDCL 263 s.
6].
Section 17—Interpretation.
In this Law,
"District" means the area of
authority of a District Council
established under any enactment
for the time being in force;
"Registrar" means the Registrar of
Marriages appointed by a District
Council for the purposes of
registering marriages and
dissolution of marriages under
this Law.
Section 18—Existing Bye-laws to
Cease to Have Effect.
On the commencement of this Law
the Bye-Laws of any District
Council relating to the
registration of customary
marriages and divorces shall on
such commencement cease to have
effect and shall be deemed to have
been cancelled by this Law.
Section 19—Commencement.
This Law shall be deemed to have
come into force on the same day as
the Intestate Succession Law, 1985
(P.N.D.C.L 111).
FIRST SCHEDULE
FORM OF REGISTER OF CUSTOMARY
MARRIAGES
PART A—PARTICLARS OF HUSBAND
Name of Husband Age of
Husband Date and Place of
Marriage Place of
Residence of Husband
Other Existing Marriage
Signature or Thumbprint of
Husband Name and
Signature or Thumbprint of
Witnesses No. of
Receipt Signature of
Registrar Remarks
PART B—PARTICULARS OF WIFE
Name of Wife Age of
Wife Date and Place of
Marriage Place of
Residence of Wife
Conditiona— (Spinter or Divorce)
Signature or Thumb-print of
Wife Name and Signature or
Thumb-print or witnesses No.
of Receipt Signature of
Registrar Remarks
SECOND SCHEDULE
NOTICE OF REGISTRATION OF
CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE OR DISSOLUTION
OF CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE
NOTICE is hereby given that the
marriage* or dissolution of the
marriage* between the parties
mentioned below was registered in
the Register of marrriages and
Divorces in accordance with the
provisions of the Customary
Marriage and Divorce
(Registration) Law,
19.............. on the
.............day of
....................19....................
Name of Parties to the
Marriage Place(s) of Residence
of Parties Place of Marriage or
Dissolution of Marriage
Date of Marriage or Dissolution of
Marriage
Dated this..................day
of.............................19.................
Registrar of
Marriages..............
*Delete where not applicable.
THIRD SCHEDULE
FORM OF REGISTER OR DIVORCE
Name of Divorce Date of
Marriage Place of Residence
of Divorce Date of
Dissolution of Marriage
Signature of Divorce No. of
Receipt Signature of
Registrar
Made this 14th day of June, 1985.
FLT the Provisional National
Defence Council
amended
by
CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
(REGISTRATION) (AMENDMENT) LAW
1991 (PNDCL 263)1.
|
