South Africa

Matodzi Ramuhovhi and Thinamaano Edson Netshituka applied to the Constitutional Court for confirmation of the Limpopo High Court, Thohoyandou’s ruling of invalidity of Section 7(1) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 (“Recognition Act”). The High Court ruled 7(1) to be invalid because it discriminated against women in polygamous marriages concluded before the Recognition Act on two grounds: (a) gender and (b) race, ethnic or social origin. This same section had been deemed unconstitutional as it related to monogamous marriages in Gumede vs.

Les Gumede se sont mariés en 1968, avant la loi no 120 de 1998 sur la reconnaissance des mariages coutumiers, qui est entrée en vigueur le 15 novembre 2000. L'article 7 (1) de la loi sur la reconnaissance disposait que les mariages coutumiers qui étaient conclus avant la date du commencement de la Loi (anciens mariages) étaient régis par le droit coutumier, tandis que l'article 7 (2) disposait que les mariages coutumiers conclus après la date d'entrée en vigueur de la Loi (nouveaux mariages) étaient des mariages en communauté de biens.

The Gumedes were married in 1968, before the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998, which entered into force on November 15, 2000. Section 7(1) of the Recognition Act provided that customary marriages entered into prior to the date of the commencement of the Act (old marriages) were governed by customary law, while section 7(2) provided that customary marriages entered into after the date of commencement of the Act (new marriages) were marriages in community of property. Ms. Gumede was directly affected by Section 7 after Mr.