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MARITAL LAW: SALRC RELEASES REPORT ON SINGLE MARRIAGE STATUTE
- 05 November 2026
- Justice & Constitutional Development
- SA Legal Academy
The South African Law Reform Commission has issued a media statement announcing the publication of a report on its investigation into the prevailing marriage law framework and the possible need for a single marriage statute. The investigation was conducted at the request of the Department of Home Affairs.
Neither document refers to the Marriage Bill now before Parliament – while a memorandum on the objects of the Bill itself makes no mention of the SALRC process, which began in 2019 with the release of an issue paper. A discussion paper was published two years later for comment.
The Bill was tabled in December 2023.
According to the SALRC statement, the report includes proposals for a Protected Relationships Bill that would:
- ‘rationalise marriage and marriage-like relationships’
- prescribe the requirements to be net in a protected relationship
- recognise relationships meeting those requirements, regardless of belief, conviction or custom, and
- establish a recognised relationship registration process.
This is noting that the prevailing legal framework:
- does not require parties entering a relationship to have ‘the mental capacity to understand the responsibilities associated with marriage’
- imposes ‘varying validity requirements’ on minimum age, consent and prohibited degrees of relationship, and
- limits the categories of individuals permitted to serve as marriage officers.
The National Assembly’s Home Affairs Committee is still in the process of determining how to address concerns about the constitutionality of the Marriage Bill’s sub-clause 6(2)(a), which deals with the requirements of a polygamous marriage. The matter was last discussed on 30 September 2026, when an external legal opinion was provided. This followed the department’s response to input received during nationwide public hearings concluded in January 2026.
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch
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