Countries: South Africa
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

“In South Africa, the Civil Union Act, 2006 provides for recognition and registration of civil unions or marriages of same or opposite-sex partners thereby enhancing the rights of sexual minorities” (9).

Countries: Malawi
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

“Malawi offers a good example for addressing legal pluralism. The Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act 2015 consolidated previously fragmented legal regimes and advanced progressive legal reform. The Act recognises and regulates civil marriages, customary marriages, religious marriages, and marriage by reputation or permanent cohabitation, granting all unions equal legal status. The recognition of marriage by reputation or permanent cohabitation is of special import, and will protect many vulnerable women who do not have the protection of a formally concluded marriage” (8). “Countries like Angola, Malawi, and Mozambique protect women the most since they recognise marriage by reputation, cohabitation, or de facto marriages, in addition to customary and religious marriages....more

Countries: Cameroon
Variables: MARR-LAW-2, MARR-LAW-5

“Countries like Angola, Malawi, and Mozambique protect women the most since they recognise marriage by reputation, cohabitation, or de facto marriages, in addition to customary and religious marriages. The same applies for Cameroon and Egypt where marriages do not have to be registered to have legal effect” (9).

Countries: China
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

“In 2018, 30-year-old Teresa Xu, fresh from a breakup and thriving in her career, visited a hospital in Beijing to inquire about egg freezing. Though she dreamed of having children someday, she wasn’t convinced that marriage was a necessary step. At a time when China’s birth rate has dropped by 68% since 1988, the government has been encouraging couples to have children by making in-vitro fertilisation and other reproductive services more affordable. However, Xu’s request was denied, with doctors insisting she must be married first. A year later, she filed a lawsuit, arguing that her rights were being infringed upon. Despite numerous appeals, Beijing’s Third Intermediate People’s Court ruled in...more

Countries: Venezuela
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"[M]arriage and unions for same-sex couples are not legally recognized" (15).

Countries: Peru
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"The Committee welcomes the laws on the adoption of minors by unmarried couples… the recognition of the inheritance rights of unmarried partners and those in common law unions... [and] the progress made in recognizing marriages of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons, including those entered into abroad" (17).

Countries: Venezuela
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"Ruling No. 1187 of 15 December 2016: the Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court recognized homoparental families, interpreting article 75 of the Constitution 'to mean that families may be headed by same-sex parents and that children born into these families enjoy the protection of the State in the same way as any other child in a traditional family'" (4). "The most significant legal developments include the 2016 ruling No. 1187 of the Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court which recognized same-sex parenting, interpreting article 75 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to mean that same-sex parents can be heads of families and that the children of these...more

Countries: Tajikistan
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"Under the Family Code of Tajikistan, a marriage is recognized only when it is concluded at a State civil registry office. A marriage performed in a religious ceremony has no legal effect" (p. 46). "One of the documents required for the registration of marriages, in accordance with article 35 of the State Civil Registration Act and article 15 of the Family Code, is a document certifying that the persons entering into marriage have undergone a compulsory medical check-up. Practice shows that the results from medical examinations indicate cases where persons entering into marriage have infectious diseases, as well as HIV and AIDS, which allows the parties to be informed in...more

Countries: Central African Rep
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"Marriage is the union between a man and a woman in the bonds stipulated by law" (11).

Countries: South Korea
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"Meanwhile, couples in non-traditional partnerships also face discrimination; South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage and regulations make it difficult for unwed couples to adopt" (para 21). "Lee Jin-song, who has written books about the trend of young people choosing not to get married or have a baby, said policies to boost the birth rate need to embrace more than just the traditional idea of marriage as being between a man and a woman" (para 22).

Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"In 2018, the government of then-President Ashraf Ghani passed a law that explicitly criminalized same-sex sexual relations, and the previous penal code included vague language widely interpreted as making same-sex relations a criminal offense" (para 5).

Countries: Maldives
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"MOGFSS is now internally discussing how to strengthen the monitoring of unregistered marriages, as there is a risk that with the strict enforcement of the law in a context where conservative believes prevail, early marriage will continue undocumented, to the great risk of the girl-bride and children under that union. Unregistered marriages and their children are not eligible for the services provided, nor can the Courts easily apply rights in marriage in these instances." (35).

Countries: Montenegro
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"By adopting the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex (Official Gazette of Montenegro, No. 67/20), Montenegro has made a major step towards respecting the position and rights of members of the LGBTQ population, enabling the same-sex unions that, with certain exceptions, can be equated with marriage, i.e. civil union, which is regulated by the Family Law" (34).

Countries: Namibia
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"The aim of the Bill is to provide a uniform matrimonial property regime for all civil marriages, to allow a determination and change of property regimes applicable to certain civil marriages contracted outside the police zone determined in terms of the Native Administration Proclamation Act 15 of 1928, the issuing of substituting marriage certificates, to allow for donations between spouses and to provide for incidental matters." (6). "The Customary Marriages Bill was referred back to the Law Reform and Development Commission for further consultations with the public." (10) (NF - CODER COMMENT - This bill created one single law that recognizes civil marriages throughout the whole of Namibia. Though it...more

Countries: Cote D'Ivoire
Variables: MARR-LAW-2

"A June 2019 law stipulates that 'no one may enter into a new marriage before the first one is dissolved' and that only state officials have the authority to legalize a union. The law thus invalidated traditional marriages" (para 11).