New law aims to regulate matrimonial property regime in Namibia



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A new marriage regime is to be introduced in the Namibian Parliament and will require married couples in the north of the country to divorce and then remarry in order for their ties to be recognized by the new law.

According to the Marriage Act 25 of 1961, all civil marriages celebrated in the northern communal areas are automatically excluded from the community of property, unlike the southern part where couples have the freedom to choose to marry in and in outside the community of goods.

The Marriage Act No. 25 of 1961 is an apartheid-era law that still appears in the Namibian constitution nearly 30 years after independence.

The law was promulgated after the 1928 proclamation of the Native Administration, which prohibits black Namibians beyond the red line (or veterinary cordon) to marry in community ownership, unless couples do not make prior arrangements with a magistrate.

A senior official of the Judiciary Office pointed out that couples already married in the north of the country who might want to change their matrimonial regime must divorce and remarry again if they want to benefit from the new legislation.

"In the current state of the law, once you have married and have chosen a specific diet, it can only be changed by a divorce."

"In some cases, the parties marry north of the red line and the marriage certificate indicates that it is a community of property, but that is wrong. The law says it's a community of property. "

"The law that will be passed will change the regime so that all marriages, whether they are north or south of the red line, are treated in the same manner, in community of ownership, unless the parties "Do not decide otherwise," said Tousy Namiseb, deputy permanent secretary of the Judiciary Bureau said in New Era on Monday, November 26, 2018.

– APA

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