Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Common law marriage Botswana'

Common-law spousal relationships have become increasingly common with a growing number of Canadians electing to enter into them. This thesis appreciates the injustices suffered by common-law spouses during and at the termination of their spousal relationships, and reinforces the view that the denial of marital property benefits dishonors the dignity of common-law spouses. Common-law spouses experience similar needs as their married counterparts when the relationship ends. Most of the current functions of marriage can be fulfilled within common-law spousal relationships and should more appropriately be called functions of the family.
Both Canadian courts and the legislatures have acknowledged and responded to the injustices that often flow from power imbalances in unmarried persons' families and have thereby given increased recognition to common-law spousal relationships. They have taken stock of the fact that by not recognizing the rights of common-law spouses in Canada on the basis of their marital status is an affront to justice. Legislatures have also enacted various statutes and have amended existing ones to extend certain rights to common-law spouses.
The various ways in which the rights of common-law spouses have been recognized in Canada will be examined and discussed, in particular the remedial notion of constructive trust which is imposed by courts to prevent injustice and unjust enrichment. It is argued this notion of constructive trust has proven effective, especially in cases where property is being divided after a long-term intimate relationship. Common-law spouses have advanced constitutional challenges in their quest to benefit from marital benefits and protections in their relationships since it is argued that both relationships are functionally the same.
Finally, this thesis suggests lessons that can be learned from the Canadian developments of recognizing common-law spouses. It also concludes by examining similar developments that have taken place in other countries of Europe and Africa.

The study sought to examine the development of customary law, primarily focusing on the extent to which the true African marriage has been preserved by its incorporation in, and regulation by legislation and the constitutions of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Today, colonial legislation has either been repealed or revised. However, evidence persists suggesting the inclusion of western principles within frameworks governing African marriages such as the Customary Marriages Act and the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of post-independence Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively. To understand the true purpose of custom, the study initially investigates the classical customary law position drawing deeper insights into the main features of the African marriage. From an African perspective, the research revealed whether legislation satisfactorily dealt with aspects such as registration of customary marriages, determination of minority and capacity to marry, payment of bride wealth, grounds for divorce, proprietary consequences of marriage during and after termination of marriage by death or divorce and women’s rights to communal land tenure and immovable property among others. Apart from legislation it became imperative to determine the role of constitutionalism and human rights law in the regulation and preservation of custom. A comparative study was motivated not only because Zimbabwe and South Africa share a border but also because migration between the two countries in the past decade due to various socio-economic forces has led to inter-marriages and cultural diversity. In addition, historically, both jurisdictions have Roman-Dutch law as the basis for the formation of their legal systems. The methodology remained largely a qualitative type research based on documentary analysis. Several findings emerged among which was the fact that, women in traditional African marriages had property rights contrary to popular belief however they continue to be most disadvantaged when it comes to having real rights in ownership of communal land. The African marriage generally sought to preserve marriage more than its western counterpart, the civil marriage. Legislation was the main vehicle for attaching customary law to western principles of law thus losing its intended purpose. Other findings were that polygamy and widow inheritance are prevalent and continue to face condemnation in today’s society; constitutionalism and international human rights law do not readily find acceptance among traditionalists; bride wealth payments persist among rural and urban folk alike and continue to symbolise a marriage between respective parties and their families; and spouses omit to register customary marriages mainly because bride wealth payments adequately legitimise their unions. Initiation ceremonies persist among some ethnic groups particularly the South African Xhosa who have adhered to circumcision for boys as determining their capacity to marry. The study concludes by making recommendations that could assist in harmonising customary law and common law. These include educational initiatives; advocacy and advice giving; regulation of unregistered customary marriages; improving access to justice; eradication of child marriages; improving the status of rural women; and constitutional reform. It is hoped that these recommendations will bridge the gap between customary law and western law as we endeavour to determine the future of the African marriage in a contemporary traditional context.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
A união estável é uma forma de relação conjugal presente, como concubinato, em diversas sociedades desde a antiguidade, constituindo uma opção de vida conjugal que tem se tornado cada vez mais freqüente na atualidade. O novo Código Civil (2002), em coerência com as mudanças introduzidas pela Constituição de 1988, confere a esse tipo de vínculo o título de entidade familiar, passando ele a compor o Livro de Família deste diploma legal. O tratamento jurídico fez dessa forma de relação antiga um novo arranjo conjugal, fato com inúmeras implicações no âmbito da vida privada. Como fato novo, a união estável gera estranhamentos, provocando um processo de familiarização social através da sua ancoragem em forma de relações conjugais já existentes: o casamento ou o concubinato. A partir desse entendimento, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo descrever, analisar e comparar as representações sociais a respeito da união estável produzidas por homens e mulheres, em quatro condições distintas: casados, solteiros, em união estável, separados. A amostra da pesquisa empírica foi composta de 304 sujeitos, com 76 em cada situação conjugal considerada, sendo metade homens e metade mulheres. O instrumento utilizado foi um questionário composto de 41 questões, sendo 21 fechadas e 19 abertas. Dentre elas, 40 são questões substantivas relativas à união estável, com vistas à obtenção de dados que configurem circunstancialmente as representações sociais. O questionário é iniciado por uma questão específica de evocação livre à descrição de uma relação conjugal do tipo união estável, para identificação dos conteúdos temáticos básicos e da estrutura das representações, de modo a permitir sua comparação. Finalmente, uma questão, desmembrada em 6 itens, visa à caracterização sócio-demográfica do conjunto dos sujeitos. As evocações foram analisadas através do software EVOC, permitindo identificar a estrutura das representações sociais. As respostas às perguntas fechadas e abertas, estas após sua categorização, foram objeto de um tratamento estatístico descritivo simples. Os resultados demonstraram que o núcleo central das representações sociais dos quatro grupos investigados compõe-se basicamente pelos sentimentos de amor e respeito. Observou-se também um alto grau de informação a respeito da união estável e posicionamentos predominantemente favoráveis tanto a respeito da legalização quanto em relação a alguns de seus aspectos jurídicos considerados polêmicos, como a conversão da união estável em casamento. Este estudo evidenciou ainda que a representação social da união estável procede basicamente de uma ancoragem no casamento, embora se tenha observado também a perpetuação da crença existente no senso comum de que é mais fácil se separar na união estável do que casamento
The Common-law marriage is one kind of interpersonal relationships, as concubinage, existent in many societies since the beginning of time. Besides being one option for couples who seek an intimate relationship, it has become increasingly frequent nowadays. The new Civil Code (2002) in agreement with the changes introduced by the 1988 Constitution statuses this type of union the with the title of Family Unit and establishes it as part of the Book of Family of this piece of legislation. The legal recognition made this ancient kind of union a new possibility of marriage, what leads to unlimited implications concerning people' private lives. As any new fact, common-law marriage brings up strangeness, leading to a process of social familiarization basically through the foundations of the existent kinds of wedlocks, the statutory marriage and concubinage. From this understanding, the following paper had as objectives to describe, analyze and compare the social representations concerning common-law marriage by men and women in four different marital status: legally married, single, separated and living in a common-law marriage. The sample of the empirical research was composed of 304 subjects, 76 in each marital status considered, being half men and half women. The instrument used was a questionnaire consisting of 41 questions, 21 of them were close and 19 were open questions. Among them, 40 were substancial questions related to common-law marriage in order to obtain data that would define the social representations. The questionnaire starts with a descriptive brainstorming question on common-law marriage to identify the basic content themes and the structure of the representations, so that it would be possible to compare. Eventually, a question broken into 6 itens aimed to specify the subjects social-demographic status. The evocations were analyzed by the software EVOC allowing to identify the structure of the social representations. After categorization, the answers to both open and close questions were subject of a simple descriptive statistical treatment. The results showed that the central core of the social representations in each of the four groups investigated is composed mainly by the feelings of love and respect. In addition, it was noticed a high level of information concerning common-law marriage and predominantly favourable positions not only concerning legalization but also into some controversial legal aspects such as the conversion of common-law marriage into statutory marriage. This research pointed out that the social representation of common-law marriage stands anchored basically into statutory marriage, although it was also observed the perpetuation of the existing common sense belief that it is easier to separate when in a common-law marriage than in a legal marriage.

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The Federal Constitution of 1988, in reference to the Family Law, innovated in disposing the Article 226, 3rdparagraph: For effect of protection of the State, it is recognized the common-law marriage between man and woman as a familiar entity, and the law should facilitate its conversion into civil marriage . We have concentrated on the second part of this constitutional precept and only the common-law marriage between man and woman. There have been new judgments by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) based on this modification. Although the Constitution has oriented to the law enactment, that facilitated the conversion of the common-law marriage, between man and woman, into civil marriage, the legislators haven`t accomplished their mission, or at least, they haven`t done it properly. Not even with the enactment of the law n. 9.278 from 05-10-1996, nor the Civil Code from 2002, article n. 1.726. There some bills about the theme mentioned above that have been examined by the National Congress. These omissions on the laws cause many problems and the Justice Court-inspecting Authority of each State has tried to supply them. We have observed, since antiquity, there is a concern about formalizing marriages among the couples who have informal relationships. Moreover, according to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE) more than 1/3 (one-third) of the Brazilian couples haven`t got the civil registry to legalize their common-law marriage. This constitutional law being examined has been created for their assistance. We consider the conversion of the common-law marriage into civil marriage similar to the conversion of religious marriage into civil marriage. Our research has involved comparative law and revealed many similarities between Brazilians Laws and those of other nations, but they have less detail and are not expressed at the Constitutional level, as seen in Brazil, where it is established that the law should facilitate the conversion of the common-law marriage into civil marriage. We have indicated the possible reasons, judicial and practical, to think about the right to convert common-law marriage into civil marriage; the indispensable constitutional and legal requirements for it; the adequate procedures to be within the constitutional law; beyond the effects derived from exercising of this right
A Constituição Federal de 1988, no que se refere ao direito de família, inovou ao dispor, no art. 226, § 3º, que: Para efeito de proteção do Estado, é reconhecida a união estável entre o homem e a mulher como entidade familiar, devendo a lei facilitar sua conversão em casamento . Dedicamo-nos à segunda parte desse preceito constitucional e apenas à união formada entre o homem e a mulher. Assim procedemos considerando os recentes julgamentos do Supremo Tribunal Federal. No que diz respeito ao tema do nosso trabalho, constatamos que, embora o Poder Constituinte haja orientado para a edição de lei que facilite a conversão da união estável, entre o homem e a mulher, em casamento, o legislador ordinário ainda não cumpriu essa missão ou, ao menos, assim não o fez adequadamente, nem ao editar a Lei n. 9.278, de 10 de maio de 1996, muito menos o art. 1.726 do Código Civil de 2002. É certo que há proposições legislativas, a esse respeito, tramitando no Congresso Nacional. Essa situação, de lacuna no direito, gera problemas, que normas das Corregedorias-Gerais de Justiça dos Estados procuram suprir. Observamos que, desde a antiguidade, há preocupação no sentido de que os casais afeitos ao relacionamento informal venham a formalizar matrimônio. Ademais, conforme mostram os registros do IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, dos casais brasileiros, mais de 1/3 (um terço) não tem vínculo inscrito no Registro Civil e são os destinatários imediatos da norma constitucional em estudo. Consideramos a similaridade que pode haver entre a conversão da união estável em casamento e o reconhecimento de efeitos civis do matrimônio religioso. Nossa pesquisa abrangeu o direito comparado, que revelou previsões normativas semelhantes à brasileira, embora sem a peculiaridade de, em sede constitucional, estabelecer que a lei deva facilitar a conversão da união estável em casamento. Apontamos algumas das possíveis razões, jurídicas e práticas, para se pensar no direito à conversão da união estável em casamento; as indispensáveis exigências constitucionais e legais para tanto; o procedimento mais adequado para ser atendido o mandamento constitucional; além dos efeitos decorrentes do exercício desse direito

A normatização da família merece tratamento absolutamente preferencial na organização social. O primeiro vínculo numa sociedade é o familiar e as relações que se criam nesse ambiente geram conseqüências sociais, jurídicas e patrimoniais que merecem uma atenta observação do Poder Legislativo. No início do III milênio, não basta a mera previsão constitucional que define a união estável como entidade familiar. Exige-se agora uma ampla cadeia de proteção legal. As maneiras pelas quais se podem constituir uma família são variadas, mas é facilmente constatável que o casamento e a união estável ganham primazia em números absolutos na sociedade ocidental. Nos dois casos, um homem e uma mulher unem-se com o claro objetivo de constituir uma família, com todas as conseqüências e efeitos que a palavra enseja. Daí em diante surge uma miríade de oportunidades para litígios e controvérsias entre os pares, o que também é constatável nos balcões dos fóruns e nos domicílios por todo o país. Guarda dos filhos, estado civil, necessidade de vênia para alienação de bens, meação, direito real de habitação ao sobrevivente e efeitos sucessórios são apenas alguns dos tantos itens nos quais ou há lacuna do ordenamento ou a lei existe, mas trata as realidades sociais de modo absolutamente díspares. Isso em detrimento da família no aspecto mais amplo da palavra e ofendendo a dignidade da pessoa humana dos conviventes da união estável, dos filhos destas lídimas uniões e dos demais atores sociais envolvidos, violando frontalmente a Constituição Federal. A presente tese aborda o histórico pátrio da união estável, traz um estudo comparativo com países ocidentais e demonstra as divergências existentes hoje na regulamentação dessas espécies de família. Após demonstrar robustos fundamentos acerca da necessidade de sistematização legislativa, a tese concluí pela proposta de uma ampla reforma no ordenamento, que alteraria a proteção conferida aos conviventes da união estável, visando sistematizá-la de modo digno.
The normatization of the family deserves absolutely preferential treatment in the social organization. The first bond in a society is the familiar one and the relations that are created in this environment generate social, legal and patrimonial consequences that deserve close attention of the Legislative. At the beginning of the third millennium, the mere constitutional forecast that defines the domestic partnership as a familiar entity is not enough. Its now required an ample chain of legal protection. The ways in which a family can be created are varied, but it is easily verifiable that the marriage and the domestic partnership gain priority in absolute numbers in the occidental society. In the two cases, a man and a woman join themselves with the clear objective to constitute a family, with all the consequences and effects that the word carries. From this moment on a myriad of chances for litigations and controversies appear between the pairs, which is also verifiable at the assistance counters of the Court Houses and at the domiciles in the whole country. Child custody disputes, civil status, necessity of spousal consent for property alienation, elective share, joint tenancy with right of survivorship and successor rights effects are only some of the many items in which there are gaps in the legal system or the law exists, but it deals with the social realities in an absolutely incongruent way. This in detriment of the family in the amplest aspect of the word and offending the dignity of the human being of the parties in the domestic partnership, of the children of these legitimate unions and of all other involved social actor, violating the Federal Constitution. The present thesis approaches the native history of the domestic partnership, brings a comparative study of occidental countries and demonstrates the actual existing divergences in the regulation of these kinds of family. After demonstrating strong reasons in reference to the need of the legislative systematization, the thesis concludes with the proposal of a wide reformation in the legal system that would modify the protection conferred to the parties in the domestic partnership, aiming to systemize it in a dignified manner.

Le Code civil permet à ceux qui souhaitent partager leur existence d'opter pour l'une des voies suivantes : vivre en concubinage, conclure un P.A.C.S. ou s'unir par le mariage. Tout à fait distinctes en 1999, ces trois formes de conjugalité sont de plus en plus souvent appréhendées de façon unitaire par la règle de droit, au point de pouvoir évoquer l'émergence d'un véritable droit commun des couples. Cette tendance à l'harmonisation, voire à l'uniformisation, a été clairement perçue par la doctrine et a été expliquée de plusieurs façons. Témoin d'une emprise des principes d'égalité et de non-discrimination pour les uns, ce droit commun s'expliquerait, pour d'autres, par la prise en compte de la seule communauté de vie. Ces explications nous ont toutefois semblé insatisfaisantes et c'est en observant les rapports entretenus entre couple et politique que cet élan unificateur nous a paru compréhensible: le droit commun des couples existe en raison de l'utilité qu'il présente pour la réalisation des fonctions étatiques, qu'il s'agisse de ses fonctions sociales ou économiques. De lege Lata, la règle de droit, moyen d'action du politique, ne reconnaît donc les couples unitairement que si cette appréhension est utile à l'Etat. Cette utilité est toutefois perçue ponctuellement, ce qui conduit à un droit commun lacunaire, construit par strates successives et incohérentes. Une réflexion d'ensemble sur l'utilité des couples pour la mise en œuvre des fonctions étatiques, associée à la défense essentielle d'une préservation · : du pluralisme, permettrait de reconstruire, de lege ferenda, un droit commun des couples plus cohérent et plus logique
The civil code allows those who wish to share their lives to choose one of the following ways: to live a concubines, sign a P.A.C.S or to be united in marriage. Distinctly different from each other in 1999, these thee forms of union are more and more similar under the rule of law to the extent that a true common law for couples seems to have emerged. This trend towards harmonisation and standardisation was clearly perceived by the doctrine and was explained in several ways. Proof of the influence of the principles of equality and of non-discrimination for some, this common law would be explained by others as the taking into account of the only lifepartnership. These explanations seemed unsatisfactory to us and it was in observing the relations between couples and politics that this unifying momentum seemed comprehensible to us: the common law of couples exists due to the utility that it presents to establish state functions, whether they be social or economic. De lege lata, the rule of law, the means of political action only recognizes couples individually if this apprehension is useful to the State. This utility is perceived from time to time, which leads to a Jack of common law, built by successive and incoherent levels. A review of the usefulness of couples for the implementation of state functions, in association with the essential protection of the preservation of pluralism, would allow for the reconstruction, de lege ferenda, of a more coherent and more logical common law for couples

Esta tese tem por objeto o estudo do direito sucessório dos companheiros na união estável, tema que, cada vez mais, tem despertado grande interesse da sociedade. O ser humano, em decorrência de sua falibilidade e suscetibilidade a doenças, ferimentos e velhice, está sujeito à morte, fim inexorável de sua existência. A pessoa fenece, enquanto seus bens remanescem, sendo transmitidos a seus herdeiros, legítimos ou testamentários, e legatários. A sucessão legítima é aquela que se dá de acordo com a ordem preferencial estabelecida na lei; a testamentária, a que ocorre de acordo com a declaração de última vontade do falecido, expressa em testamento. Os herdeiros legítimos podem ser necessários ou facultativos: estes podem ser afastados da herança pelo fato de o falecido dispor de seus bens sem contemplá-los; aqueles, entretanto, não podem ser privados de parcela mínima da herança, a que têm direito, chamada de legítima, a não ser que sejam excluídos da sucessão por ato de indignidade ou deserdados pelo testador, em decorrência de ato atentatório à sua pessoa, nas hipóteses previstas em lei. O Código Civil de 2002 modificou profundamente a sucessão decorrente dos vínculos conjugal e convivencial. O cônjuge passou a concorrer não só com os descendentes do autor da herança, dependendo do regime de bens, mas também com os ascendentes, neste caso independentemente do estatuto patrimonial adotado. Ademais, foi elevado à categoria de herdeiro necessário, à qual antes só pertenciam os descendentes e ascendentes do de cujus. O companheiro supérstite, por outro lado, não foi declarado expressamente herdeiro necessário, embora também concorra à herança com os descendentes e ascendentes do morto. A presente pesquisa examina a posição sucessória daqueles que vivem em união estável, considerada entidade familiar pela Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil, em contraste com a sucessão do cônjuge, a fim de perscrutar, por meio de ampla investigação bibliográfica, legal e jurisprudencial, se o companheiro deve ou não ser considerado herdeiro necessário, do que dependerá seu direito à legítima.
The objective of this thesis is to examine succession law in connection with common law marriage (stable union), an issue that has garnered increasing public attention. Due to their intrinsic fallibility and vulnerability to disease, injury, and old age, human beings are subject to death, to the inexorable end of their existence. Yet while human beings are destined to meet their end, their property and assets remain behind, transferred to their heirs, either legitimate or testamentary, and legatees. Legitimate succession is based on the order of preference, as prescribed in law; testamentary succession is based on a statement of last wishes by the deceased, as expressed in a will. Legitimate heirs may be necessary or optional: although the latter may be left out of the inheritance by the deceased upon disposition of his or her property and assets, the former may not be deprived of a minimum share of the inheritance, to which they have a right, also known as legitime, unless they are excluded as a consequence of an act of indignity or disinherited by the testator by virtue of an offense against such person, as provided for by law. The 2002 Brazilian Civil Code significantly modified succession for cases of marriage and cohabitation. The spouse may now claim a share of the inheritance alongside the testators descendants, depending on the particular marital property system applied, and ascendants as well, in this case irrespective of the specific property division system invoked. In addition, spouses are now classified as necessary heirs, a category previously reserved for descendants and ascendants of the deceased. However, the Civil Code does not expressly include surviving partners as necessary heirs, although they are entitled to claim a share of the inheritance alongside the ascendants and descendants of the deceased. This study considers the succession rights of individuals in common law marriage, considered a family entity under the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, in contrast to spousal succession, with a view to examining, through a detailed investigation of the existing legal literature and jurisprudence, if partners should or should not be deemed necessary heirs, a determination on which their right to legitime largely depends.

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The present work boards the controversy over the straight law of habitation as a figure of right of succession in the case of the death of the one of the parties in a common-law marriage. It has been stablished a parallel among these rights conceded to the husbands or wives and those conceded to the parties of the common-law marriage at the present standing normative system. According to this, a critical analysis has been made with the familiar entities disposed by the Federal Constitution and its abordage by the infraconstitutional rules. Essencial to the proposed object, the study has been expanded to the elements of the family rights, the straight law and the rights of succession, having as an aim the examining of this law application over the surviving part in a common-law marriage
O presente trabalho aborda o questionamento acerca do direito real de habitação como figura do Direito sucessório nos casos de sucessão do convivente. Traçou-se um paralelo entre os direitos hereditários concedidos aos cônjuges e aos conviventes na atual sistemática normativa vigente. Em vista disso, foi realizada análise crítica às entidades familiares instituídas pela Constituição Federal e seu tratamento pelas normas infraconstitucionais. O estudo se estendeu, por essencial à abordagem ao objeto proposto, elementos do Direito de Família, do Direito Real e do Direito das Sucessões, tendo como objetivo a verificação de aplicação de tal direito aos conviventes supérstites

Cette thèse vise à appréhender la condition juridique des couples non mariés, à travers près de cinq siècles. Le droit canonique du mariage relégua le concubinage à un état permanent de péché, et, au XVIe siècle, le concile de Trente prescrivit des sanctions sévères à l'encontre des concubinaires. Les pères du concile édictèrent des règles encadrant la célébration du mariage. Puis, l'autorité séculière s'arrogea peu à peu la compétence en matière matrimoniale, par les lois et par la jurisprudence. La frontière entre mariage et concubinage était dorénavant strictement établie. Si l'ancien droit ne regarda pas le concubinage comme un délit, il fustigea les bâtards en les soumettant à un statut d'infériorité. Sous la Révolution, la sécularisation du mariage ne remit pas en cause la forme traditionnelle de l'union conjugale, toutefois, les législateurs accordèrent des droits aux enfants naturels reconnus. En 1804, le Code civil ignora absolument le concubinage. Le fondement de la famille était le mariage ; et, les enfants naturels furent, de nouveau, les victimes de la prééminence de l'union légitime. Dés le milieu du XIXe siècle, la rigueur du Code envers la famille naturelle fut atténuée grâce à un courant d'idées progressistes. Puis, au début du XXe siècle, la reconnaissance officielle du concubinage fut opérée par une série de mesures législatives lui conférant des effets juridiques, et la voie vers un pluralisme juridique des modèles familiaux se trouva ouverte.

Le droit des règlements pécuniaires entre époux consécutifs au divorce a pendant longtemps été fondé sur l’idée de sanctionner le conjoint responsable de la rupture que ce soit en France, au Canada ou dans la province canadienne de Québec. Bien que de traditions juridiques différentes, les droits français et canadien reconnaissaient ainsi un rôle central à la faute dans leur droit du divorce. Face à l’évolution concomitante des sociétés française et canadienne vers un individualisme plus marqué et une volonté croissante de pacifier les conflits, ces droits ont dû tendre vers une plus grande objectivation du divorce et de ces conséquences. Parallèlement à un mouvement de quasi-disparition de la faute, de nouvelles institutions sont apparues dans les droits étudiés, institutions fondées sur des idées de compensation, d’équité mais aussi de solidarité avec la survie ou l’apparition d’obligations alimentaires. Aujourd’hui, les droits étudiés sont marqués par une diversité d’institutions avec pour certaines des fondements multiples et des intitulés qui, malgré la différence de tradition juridique, peuvent se répondre comme, par exemple, la pension alimentaire non compensatoire canadienne qui n’est pas sans rappeler la prestation compensatoire que nous qualifions d’alimentaire française. Cette diversité amène alors à s’interroger sur la nécessité de repenser et de rationaliser les institutions existantes pour les rendre tout à la fois plus compréhensibles mais aussi plus accessibles par les futurs ex-époux. Cette simplification doit en effet s’accompagner d’une plus grande liberté contractuelle permettant aux conjoints divorcés de se réapproprier leur séparation avec l’aide d’un avocat, d’un médiateur ou encore du juge. Le divorce pacifié, se pose alors la question de la pacification de la rupture des autres couples que sont les unions libres ou encore les PACS et union civile. Ces unions hors mariage se développant, il est nécessaire aujourd’hui de prendre en considération les conséquences de leur dissolution voire d’envisager un droit commun des règlements pécuniaires consécutifs à toute séparation
Historically post-divorce laws between spouses was based in France, Canada and Quebec on penalizing the responsible party of the separation. Although from different law traditions, Canadian and French law recognized an important place to the fault in their divorce laws. However, the tendency of the French and Canadian societies to be more individual and to pacify conflicts, divorce law had to change to become more objectivized. The movement of removing the fault in divorce permitted the creation of new institutions based on compensation, equity and solidarity which is symbolized by spousal support and alimony. The studied laws are characterized by diverse institutions, are founded on different grounds. These institutions inspired by different law traditions are thus very similar such as the Canadian on compensatory spousal support and the French compensatory obligation that we call "alimony compensatory obligation". This diversity impose us to think about the possibility of a renewal and rationalization of the existent institutions in order to be simplified and comprehensible for the future divorce spouses. A greater freedom of contract should also ensure the appropriation of the divorce's consequences by the divorced spouse with help of lawyers, mediators and judges. Once the divorce humanized, the question of the pacification of the dissolution/ ruptures of other types of union such as common law marriage or civil partnership. The increasing number of those new couples, it is becoming a necessity to take in consideration the consequences of their dissolution and draw a new common law for their dissolution

The bulk of the matrimonial property regimes operating in Botswana were inherited from the country's colonial past. Since independence there ha'> not been any realistic attempt to reform them. The thesis set out to appraisal the legal regimes governing the determination of matrimonial property on divorce to ascertain their efficacy in realising the legitimate aspiration of married couples. Comparisons were made with similar countries to determine how these have tackled problems relating to determination of matrimonial property on divorce. The study found that where there is a dispute about matrimonial property in marriages out of community, the courts have no discretion to readjust the rights of the parties. This situation adversely affect nonworking wives who spent most of their time looking after their husbands and children without being able to acquire capital assets. Recognition is not given to such domestic contribution to the welfare of the family. It was also found that the exercise of the marital power by husbands of marriages in community of property deprives wives of those marriages the right to administer the joint estate. The patriarchal nature of customary law, which governs the majority of disputes about matrimonial property, discriminates against women. Consequently, the following, inter alia, are suggested as reform measures. (a) The courts should be g1ven a wide discretionary power, circumscribed by statutory guidelines, to reallocate matrimonial property on divorce irrespective of the matrimonial property regime that governs the marriage. TI1e underlying principle should be equality of sharing but this may be departed from where the circumstances of the particular case warrant it (b) A spouse's domestic contribution towards the welfare of the family should be recognised. (c) The marital power of husbands should be abolished. (d) The provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act should be made applicable to customary marriages.
Private Law
LL.D.

Zusammenfassung Diese Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit dem ehelichen Güterrecht; einem Thema, das sowohl für den Alltag der Ehegatten wichtig ist, als auch für diejenigen, die mit einer verheirateten Person rechtlich handeln. Die Arbeit richtet sich vor allem auf den Vergleich der gegenwärtigen rechtlichen Regelung, am 1. 1. 2014 in Kraft getreten, mit der vorherigen Rechtsregelung. Diese Arbeit besteht aus drei Teilen, die in Kapitel unterteilt werden, sowie aus der Einleitung und der Schlussfolgerung. Der erste Teil behandelt die historische Entwicklung der rechtlichen Regelung der Vermögensbeziehungen zwischen Ehegatten auf unserem Rechtsgebiet seit der Gültigkeit des Allgemeinen bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches vom Jahr 1811, über das Gesetz über Familienrecht vom Jahr 1949, bis zum bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch vom Jahr 1964, wirksam bis 31. 12. 2013. Der zweite, zugleich wichtigste und umfangreichste Teil analysiert ausführlich das eheliche Güterrecht im bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch vom Jahr 2012, das mit dem 1. 1. 2014 in Kraft getreten ist. Die einzelnen Kapitel befassen sich mit der Gütergemeinschaft einerseits was Entstehung, Auflösung, Vergleich und Schutz dritter Personen betrifft, andererseits was die Regelungen betrifft, denen sie sowohl vom Umfang als auch verwaltungsrechtlich unterliegen kann. Diese sind: die...

Beginning in the early nineteenth century, American jurisprudence grappled with the issue of marital property. States under the Anglo-American legal tradition of common law revised marital property allocations to allow wives to hold certain categories of property separate from their husbands. These changes were enacted, in part, to insulate a wife's property from the vagaries of the market but the judicial response reveals a larger narrative of ambivalence and anxiety about women, property, and the suggested mobility of separately held possessions. Marital property reform begins in an historical moment when the question of what a woman could own in marriage morphed into larger cultural anxieties such as the very meaning of ownership and things themselves in the face of new intangible properties. Writers of fiction also captured these anxieties, and created imagined scenarios of marriage and property to expose constructions of ownership, property, womanhood, and marriage. Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening attempts her withdrawal from her marriage by dismantling the Pontellier home and removing what she believes she owns to a separate physical space. The tragedy of her story can be understood for its legal impossibility under common law, as well as the restricted meanings of marriage and separate property under Louisiana's civil law jurisdiction. At the end of Edith Wharton's Summer, Charity Royall chooses to secretly reclaim a brooch that was a gift from her lover. Her action suggests a desire for privacy and could be viewed as fraudulent to her marriage vows. Pauline Hopkins's character Hagar in Hagar's Daughter repossesses material spaces in which she was forbidden to own and control because of her race and gender, and uses the American justice system to support her claims to ownership and contractual rights. In contrast to Hopkins's tenuous but nonetheless optimistic portrayal of contract, Marìa Amparo Ruiz de Burton's novel Who Would Have Thought It? describes contract and the American legal system overall as empty promises. Marriage and property in Ruiz de Burton's novel work as tropes through which to critique nineteenth-century American society and the destructive force of capitalism within its most intimate spaces.

The study sought to determine, first, what the rules of the Hananwa family law were and, second, whether those rules were compatible with the Constitution. First, it documented the rules of the official family law. The problem that the study countenanced is that customary law is "corrupted, inauthentic and lacking authority".1 Second, it established and documented the rules of the Hananwa family law. The problem that the study countenanced in respect of Hananwa law was that it was difficult to ascertain the content of the rules of the "living" Hananwa law in order to determine their compatibility with the provisions of the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the traditional Hananwa community is inegalitarian and patriarchal. Section 9 of the Constitution provides that everyone is equal before the law and enjoys equal and full protection and benefit of the law. The study found that the Hananwas still observe their system of customary law. However, there are visible changes. For instance, nowadays the spousal consent is a validity requirement for all customary marriages. A parent or legal guardian must consent to a customary marriage of a minor. The individual spouses, not their families, are parties to their own customary marriages. African women enjoy equal status. This development is consistent with section 9 of the Constitution read with section 6 of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998. According to the Constitutional Court, in MM v MN and Another 2013 4 SA 415 (CC), the first wife must consent to her husband's customary marriage to another woman in addition to her customary marriage to him. However, some rules of the Hananwa law do not comply with the provisions of the Bill of Rights. For instance, according to the Hananwa law, extramarital children do not enjoy equal inheritance rights and maintenance rights yet. This discrimination is inconsistent with the constitutional right to equality and the provisions of the Reform of Customary Laws of Succession and Regulations of Related Matters Act 11 of 2009.The Constitution puts common law and customary law on a par. However, the courts have often replaced customary law dispute resolution rules with the common law rules. For instance, the Constitutional Court in Bhe and Others v Magistrate, Khayelitsha and Others; Shibi v Sithole and South African Human Rights Commission and Another v President of the Republic of South Africa and Another 2005 1 SA 580 (CC) and the High Court in Maluleke v Minister of Home Affairs 2008 JDR 0426 (W) substituted the rules of common law for those of customary law in order to resolve customary law disputes. The legislature could not be outdone. A meticulous study of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 and the Reform of Customary Laws of Succession and Regulations of Related Matters Act 11 of 2009 reveals that their provisions almost appropriately reflect the common law marriage and intestate succession rules respectively. The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act has, furthermore, adopted the provisions of the Divorce Act of 1979. Section 28 of the Constitution read with the Children's Act 38 of 2005 has generally substituted the fundamental human rights for the unequal rights provided by the customary law of parent and child. The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998 has substituted the communal form of maintenance under customary law.
Public, Constitutional, & International Law
LLD (International and Constitutional Law)

The focus of this study is on the criteria and processes used by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) in recognising spouses in permanent, unmarried unions. In theoretically positioning this focus, four possible areas of tax benefits were reviewed . These include: (i) donations tax, (ii) capital gains tax, (iii) estate duty tax and (iv) transfer duty. Also , the focus of this study was positioned relative to South African taxation acts. Specifically, three Acts were selected for review, viz.: (i) the Income Tax Act, No. 58 of 1962, the Estate Duty Act, No. 45 of 1955, and the Transfer Duty Act, No. 40 of 1949. These Acts may be understood relative to the South African Constitution's framing of notions like equality - given that these Acts signal the legislation's intention to honour the constitutional rights of its tax-paying citizenry. Furthermore, a theoretical framework that highlights official and espoused perspectives of practice is reviewed as it provides a theoretical frame for this study. Given this legislative and theoretical background the following aims were focussed: (1) To identify the official and espoused criteria used by the South African Revenue Services to recognise unmarried partners as spouses, and (2) To identify the official and espoused processes used b~ the South African Revenue Services to recognise unmarried partners as spouses. The chosen methodology is an explorative descriptive methodology, as situated within a qualitative framework. Data sources are described as constituting the three tax Acts, a senior SARS official, and SARS helpdesk personnel. Data selection criteria are described , and convenience and purposive sampling are the stated data selection techniques. Document analysis and interview schedules were used to collect data. Data was managed and analysed via the use of several data analysis techniques. Results are presented and discussed. Significantly, SARS has non-specific criteria that are nebulous, and open to interpretation. Furthermore, processes are poorly stated and provide insufficient guidance to the taxpayer. Given these outcomes, this study also offers two South African legal cases that cogently illustrate criteria and processes for recognising a spouse. Each of these cases are analysed regarding the criteria and processes used to determine the definition of 'spouse'. These cases, while dealing with issues of same-sex adoption and same-sex partner's rights to remuneration benefits serve to highlight factors that may be of use to SARS. Furthermore, international case exemplars are also discussed. Specifically, Canada's taxation laws were focussed. Canada's criteria and processes used to define common-law partners (read as spouse for purposes of this study) serves as an informative case exemplar, relative to other countries also investigated in this study, viz .: the United States of America , Belgium and other European countries. Finally, several recommendations are stated , and an evaluation of the study is provided.
Thesis (M.A.)-- University of Durban-Westville, 2002

Près d’un Canadien sur cinq est né à l’étranger. Les niveaux d’immigration ne cessant de croître, la façon dont ces nouveaux venus s’intégreront à leur société d’accueil joue grandement sur l’avenir du pays. Dans les études d'intégration, une attention particulière est portée aux jeunes formant la première et la seconde génération puisqu’ils représentent le lien intergénérationnel entre membres de leurs familles, communautés culturelles et natifs canadiens. Ce mémoire porte sur les tendances liées aux comportements matrimoniaux des différentes générations d’hommes et de femmes provenant de diverses régions géographiques, comparativement à ceux de la population canadienne, incluant l’analyse du rôle que pourraient y jouer les communautés culturelles. En utilisant le recensement de 2001, l'analyse fait une distinction entre le Québec et le reste du Canada, et se concentre sur la probabilité de vivre ou non en union selon l’âge puis, pour ceux en union, la probabilité d’être marié ou en union libre. Les résultats démontrent que les comportements matrimoniaux des immigrants issus d’une union mixte (ayant un parent né au Canada) se conforment plus rapidement à ceux de la population locale que ceux ayant deux parents nés à l’étranger. Aussi, nos résultats révèlent que les immigrants issus de diverses régions géographiques présentent des comportements matrimoniaux et des profils selon le statut générationnel distincts alors que certains d’entre eux ne montrent aucun signe de convergence vers les comportements matrimoniaux des natifs canadiens. Finalement, les résultats liés à la taille et à la présence d’une communauté culturelle varient selon les différents modèles.
Nearly one out of five Canadians was born abroad. Immigration levels keep growing and the ways in which these newcomers integrate into Canada will greatly affect the future of the country. In studies of integration, particular attention should be paid to young people of first and second generations, as they represent the intergenerational link between their families, cultural communities and native Canadians. This thesis focuses on the covariates of the matrimonial behaviours of different generations of immigrant men and women from different origin regions, compared to those of the local population, and examine the possible effects of cultural communities. Using 2001 census data, the analysis distinguishes between Quebec and the rest of Canada, and focuses on the probability of living in union by age and, of those in union, the probability that the union be marital versus common-law. Results show that the behaviors of immigrants of mixed unions (with one Canadian-born parent) are much more similar to those of local population, than those with both parents born abroad. Moreover, migrants of different geographic regions of origin display markedly different behaviors and different patterns of social integration across the generations, with some showing no evidence of a convergence to local norms. Finally, the effects of size and presence of a cultural community varies across the different models.