Page 36 - SAReform Book

Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and Succession in South Africa
Living Customary Law and Social Realities
Summary Research Report
This summary report discusses the findings of the research on the operation of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 (RCMA) and the rules of succession developed by the Constitutional Court in Bhe v Magistrate, Khayelitsha (the Bhe rules).
The study set out to explore how the new laws were being implemented through the eyes of the individuals living according to customary law, a range of state institutions, including the courts and the Department of Home Affairs, and traditional leaders. The aim was to unearth both compliance with and dissonance from the RCMA and the Bhe rules. The ultimate goal of the research was to investigate whether and to what extent the new laws of marriage and succession are protecting the rights of the people for whom they were intended, and to offer recommendations for meeting the challenges identified.
Under the new constitutional dispensation,legal reform in the areas of customary marriage and succession created new regulations for the personal lives of many individuals in South Africa. Although a number of studies have investigated the success of the laws regulating marriage, divorce and succession, they have very seldom provided a holistic account of the implementation of the new laws in the different areas of marriage, divorce and succession, and from the perspective of the different social actors involved. The report highlights several significant issues that require immediate attention in order to improve the implementation of the laws.
The research was conducted under the auspices of the DST/NRF Chair in Customary Law, Indigenous Values and Human Rights at the University of Cape Town by Chuma Himonga, who led the study and also holds the Chair; Elena Moore of the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Town; and the National Movement of Rural Women under the directorship of Likhapha Mbatha.
The results of the study were also published as a peer-reviewed book entitled Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and Succession in South Africa: Living Customary Law and Social Realities. More information about the book can be found at https://jutalaw.co.za/ products/reform-of-customary-marriage-divorce-and-succession-in-south-africa.