Abstract

In the 21st century, families are constituted differently to the typical Western Judeo-Christian nuclear family comprising of a mother, father, and children. While some individuals may marry, others may choose not to do so or, at the other end of the spectrum, marry several individuals. This article critically examines whether South African marriage law adequately protects contemporary family formations. The examination reveals that unfortunately – but perhaps not unsurprisingly – the heteronormative nuclear family continues to be positioned as the baseline for the conferral of rights with opposite-sex civil marriages often receiving the greatest protection in South African law. Despite the legislative recognition of civil unions and customary marriages, the realisation of rights by individuals in these fringe groups is hindered by the creation of a complex legislative framework and practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the law. Furthermore, notwithstanding years of legislative deliberation on the matter, unmarried partners and those in religious marriages enjoy only ad hoc protection through case law and piecemeal legislative provisions. While judicial activism in this arena may be lauded, the limited nature of judgments has led to continuous litigation for the realisation of rights. Statutory reform is thus required to ensure the equal treatment of all marriages, reconcile and simplify existing statutory law, address practical difficulties in the implementation of the law, and govern social reality.

中文翻译：

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当代南非的家庭形态：南非婚姻法是否保护了现实生活？

摘要

在21世纪，家庭构成与典型的西方犹太基督教基督教核心家庭不同，后者由母亲，父亲和孩子组成。虽然有些人可以结婚，但其他人可能选择不结婚，或者在另一端选择与几人结婚。本文严格审查了南非的婚姻法是否充分保护了当代家庭的形成。审查发现，不幸的是，但也许并不奇怪，异规范核家庭仍然被定位为授予异性婚姻的权利的基础，而异性婚姻通常在南非法律中得到最大的保护。尽管立法上承认民间同盟和习惯婚姻，在这些边缘群体中，个人的权利实现受到创建复杂的立法框架和法律实施中遇到的实际困难的阻碍。此外，尽管对此事进行了多年的立法审议，未婚伴侣和宗教婚姻中的伴侣仅享有通过判例法和零碎的法律规定提供临时保护。尽管可以赞扬这一领域的司法行动主义，但判决的有限性导致人们不断为实现权利提起诉讼。因此，需要进行法律改革，以确保平等对待所有婚姻，调和和简化现有的成文法，解决法律实施中的实际困难并管理社会现实。