Government Gazette

Vol. 425, No. 21700, 1 November 2000

Regulation Gazette, No. 6909

No. R. 1101

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

RECOGNITION OF CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES ACT, 1998 (ACT No. 120 OF 1998) REGULATIONS

The Minister of Justice, in consultation with the Minister of Home Affairs, has under section 11 of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998), made the regulations in the Schedule.

1. In these regulations, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act, bears the meaning so assigned to it and, unless the context otherwise indicates-

 "civil marriage" means a marriage contracted in terms of the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961);

"Director-General" means the Director-General: Home Affairs or any person acting by virtue of delegation or by direction of the Director-General: Home Affairs;

"Department" means the Department of Home Affairs;

"designated person" means a person designated by the Director-General for the purposes of regulation 2;

"identity number" means an identity number allocated in terms of the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No. 68 of 1997);

"population register" means the population register referred to in section 5 of the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No. 68 of 1997);

"the Act" means the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998).

2. (1) An application for the registration of a customary marriage must substantially correspond with Form A of the Annexure, be duly confirmed and signed before a -

1. registering officer; or
2. designated person, who has been designated as such by the Director-General to perform functions in terms of these regulations.

(2) An application referred to in subregulation (1) must be lodged with a registering officer or designated person who must issue the applicant with an acknowledgment of receipt which substantially corresponds with Form B of the Annexure.

(3) The designated person with whom an application is lodged must without delay forward the application referred to in subregulation (1) to the nearest regional or district office of the Department.

(4) The registering officer -

1. who is not an official of the Department must, after registration of the customary marriage, without delay forward the application referred to in subregulation (1) to the nearest regional or district office of the Department for inclusion of the particulars of the customary marriage in the population register; and
2. who is an official of the Department must, without delay, include or cause to be included the particulars of the customary marriage in the population register.

(5) (a) The certificate of registration contemplated in section 4(4) (b) of the Act must substantially correspond with Form C of the Annexure.

(b) The Director-General may on application -

1. issue a duplicate of the customary marriage certificate;
2. issue an extract from the customary marriage register; or
3. furnish a reproduction of the customary marriage register or of any supporting documentation in relation to the register.

(6) The registering officer must, when he or she refuses to register a customary marriage as contemplated in section 4(6) of the Act -

1. inform the applicant of -

1. the refusal; and
2. the reasons for the refusal; and

2. where the registering officer is not an official of the Department, without delay forward the application form to the nearest regional or district office of the Department.

3. (1) An application in terms of section 4(5) of the Act to a registering officer to enquire into the existence of a customary marriage must be in the form and contain substantially the information set out in Form A of the Annexure.

(2) The provisions of regulation 2 must, in respect of an application contemplated in subregulation (1), apply with the necessary changes required by the context.

4. (1) An application for the consent of a commissioner of child welfare referred to in Section 3(3)(b)of the Act, must substantially correspond with Form D of the Annexure.

(2) The consent of the commissioner of child welfare must be recorded in the appropriate space provided for in Form D of the Annexure.

5. (1) When the age of a person who allegedly is a minor is uncertain or in dispute, the registering officer must -

1. complete the relevant parts of the forms, which must substantially correspond with Forms E and F of the Annexure, and hand the completed forms to the person whose age must be determined;
2. in order to assess his or her age, refer the said person for an examination to a medical doctor who is in the service of the State, who must complete the relevant part of the form which corresponds with Form F of the Annexure; and
3. refer the said person, after he or she had been examined by the said medical doctor, to the magistrate's court of the district in which the application for the registration of the customary marriage is lodged.

(2) The person whose age must be determined must -

1.  furnish to the magistrate's court the completed forms, which correspond with Forms E and F of the Annexure; and
2. appear before a magistrate who will determine his or her age.

(3) (a) A magistrate may determine the age of the person by his or her appearance or from any written or oral information which is available and thereafter issue the certificate, contemplated in section 5(2) of the Act, on a form which substantially corresponds with Form G of the Annexure.

(b) The certificate referred to in paragraph (a) must be submitted to the registering officer concerned as soon as possible.

6. The Director-General must be the custodian of all -

1. documents relating to the registration of customary marriages required to be furnished under the Act or any other law; and
2. records regarding the registration of any customary marriage preserved, prior to the commencement of the Act, in terms of Acts repealed by the Act.

7. The Director-General may reproduce any document or record referred to in regulation 6 on microfilm, in accordance with the code of practice of the South African Bureau of Standards for the processing, testing and storage of silver gelatine microfilm for archive purposes.

8. (1) The Director-General may -

1. require the person who has furnished any particulars in terms of these regulations to furnish the Director-General with proof of the correctness of such particulars; and

2. investigate or cause to be investigated any matter in respect of which particulars are to be included in the population register.

(2) The Director-General may, if any particulars in respect of any document submitted or preserved in terms of these regulations or included in the population register are not correctly reflected, supplement and correct such particulars after consultation with the person concerned.

(3) Any person who is in possession of a certificate or other document purporting to be issued in terms of these regulations, which does not correctly reflect the particulars in any document referred to in subregulation (2) or in the population register, or the guardian of such person shall, if the person or his or her guardian has been requested to do so, hand over or send by registered post such certificate or document to the Director-General within 30 days from the date of such request.

Offences and penalties

9. Any person who -

1. without reasonable cause fails to furnish any notice, information, statement or certificate required by these regulations;
2. having the custody of any document or record mentioned in these regulations or a reproduction thereof, loses, damages or destroys it or allows it to be damaged or destroyed; or
3. charges or receives fees for any act performed or to be performed in accordance with the provisions of these regulations which are higher than the fees payable in terms of these regulations for such act, or where no fees are payable in terms of these regulations for such act, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year.

Fees

10. (1) The following fees are payable to the Department:

1. Duplicate customary marriage certificate: R6, 00
2. Search and reproduction of customary marriage register or of any supporting documentation in relation to the register: Provided that if needed for official purposes by a Government institution it is free of charge: R35, 00
3. Furnishing of an extract from the customary marriage register: R35, 00

(2) A fee of R10 is payable by the spouses to a designated person in respect of an application for registration of a customary marriage lodged with the designated person.

11. These regulations come into operation on 15 November 2000.

ANNEXURE