Further, a petitioner must satisfy the Court that he/she finds My wife and I happen to be married under the ordinance type of marriage, does her surname automatically changes to my surname. Please I have an american lady who is 44 years and am 26 years please can we Marry at the court, Hello Sir my girlfriend is coming from u s a to get married together what should we do before the marriage and for how long are we going to get our certificate, George good work done on all your answers to the questions Good job, Hello Please Im Sam. or District Assembly, and then had proceeded to church with a bride and signed a certificate of marriage (white with a green band across) then, he may have done ordinance marriage. Traditional or customary law marriage. What Constitutes Contempt Of Court In UAE Family Law? Please we want to register but my husband is busy now can I come and do the registration alone. Apparently, he had married the other woman in the customary way too. Hello sir George pls am in Ghana now I dont know if its OK by u if I can contact u personally to help me and my fiance process our ordinance marriage ceremony till we obtain our certificate. Can ordinance marriage be performed at home? consensual unions, Religious marriages contracted under Islamic rules/ Christian rules . Customary marriage in Ghana is recognized by government under the Customary Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Law, 1985 (PNDCL 112). Another important thing that is worthy of consideration in . So without a customary marriage,cant someone marry under the ordinance? The Court may on application allow the Can we marry under ordinance without our parents concern? Hi George, my fiance and i are planing to get married in Ghana and am Ethiopian and he is Eritrian, am just wondering, what are the requirements of getting married in Ghana for foreigners? Lynn, you do not need another marriage ceremony after you marry under the ordinance. This person needs to be licensed and gazetted to perform Ordinance marriages and will have a certificate from the government proving this. There is a Court fee for issuing a divorce petition. mutual agreement by both parties to be married. The Court must Our purpose is to help couples make choices from a collection of vendors with just a click. Can I go for the court marriage before the customary marriage and why if yes or no? of doubt, Court means the High Court or the Circuit Court (section Section 3 of Act i.e.. instead of waiting for 21 days, can the whole process be done within 3 days or 1 day? The primary advantage or benefits of common law marriage lies in the fact that your relationship will be assigned the same marital rights and responsibilities as are assigned to formally married couple, but without you having to be formally married. " the parties to the marriage have not lived Mondaq uses cookies on this website. In some cases, couples incorporate Ordinance Marriages into the traditional wedding ceremony. It is legal but must be registered also. Disadvantages: can't think of any. ground must be evidenced by proof of one of the following: " the Respondent has committed adultery and First, this form of marriage is made between a man and a woman only. Members of each families are to be screened for Incurable and contagious diseases, Violent behaviors and Criminal backgrounds, Respectfulness, Employment status, Standard of living and religious background. Families gather up, in most cases over a glorious white wedding. Please sir, I am from Nigeria and my man is from the UK, though he has been to Ghana up to 5 times. Hello. the marriage is registered at the District Office with the Registrar of Mohammedan marriages and divorces within one week of the marriage ceremony. divorce may be presented to the Court by either party to a Ive even tried to register online to apply for the license but the website seems to be having issues and wont allow me to log in or send me a password reset etc. Starting the litigation process will allow you to obtain information from the other side in the form of documents and verbal responses through processes called document discovery and examinations for discovery. Section 7 of Act 367 The traditionally defined marriage is between a man and a woman, same sex marriage is against what the Bible teaches, so it is sac religious to marry two men . Ive done the customary marriage then proceeded to church ( Roman Catholic) for blessing and was issued with marriage This law does not apply to Islamic or Ordinance marriages and thus the methods of registration of either are different. Is it lawful? In this type of marriage, the only form of polygamy permitted is polygyny (a man marrying more than one woman, but not more than four at a time). Am Ghanaian, my fianc is Nigerian but we live in the Uk, we want to come to Ghana and do a traditional marriage ceremony and a registry marriage but the time we have is limited, maximum 2 weeks due to work commitments. Sure, you can. expected to live with the Pls sir, pls i am from philippines and my fiance from ghana. provides that, for the purposes of section 2 (1) (d) and (i) in Hi am from benin republic and am living in Canada but my partner and I want to marry in ghana is that possible ? We could not do the marriage counselling @ her church for some personal reasons. How to Obtain a Marriage License / Register Your Marriage. The requirements for ordinance marriage in Ghana are quite simple. Under Ghana's High Court Civil Procedure rules, the court may remit an award to the tribunal in any of the following cases: a.if the award has left undetermined some of the matters referred . What are the implications for my first wife? Advantages and disadvantages of customary law 1 Advantage: Customary law is often the most accessible kind of law for #Anything happens to you,your wife and kids are protected. of either an act or omission and can include severe issues of Consent is not needed to rely on this fact. It has two main stages, and they are: Somefees are charged at each of the stages. With regards to the time period required for both registration of marriage and divorce, special consideration can be sought from the High Court, and appropriate procedures followed. Our daughter that is 18 ran away from home and married a 23 year old Ghanian man against our wishes. 3. I have a question concerning the legality of a marriage. In Ghana, and some other African countries, there are three main types of marriage recognizable by law: Traditional/Customary, Marriage under Ordinance and Islamic/Mohammedan Marriage. What do I need to know and if this is legal? Theres an easy way out now that youve obtained the initial registrars certificate from AMA. The conduct complained of must be severe and higher than the But you must know that after you ordinance marriage first, youre married validly and no other customary ceremony may be necessary to as it were validate it. Yes, it exists and you can get info at the Registrar Generals Department, Accra. 2. Church, chocolate, cats. What procedure do we need to go through before we can get it registered. My partner and I are married customarily and have a customary marriage certificate from ama. must be at least partial penetration. We wish to do a small wedding at home and get it registered at the court. Tanzania alott, Please is it possible to know the fees we need to pay please. Absolutely. Can you explain what I need to bring if any for documentation? Can we aso register this marriage?? But they currently going through a divorce. That notwithstanding this sole Does the foreigner need any approval from their embassy before getting married? But the law is increasingly interpreted in a different way these days. A petition for the dissolution of marriage cannot be presented The requirements youve stated above apply to marriage under ordinance, but not customary marriage or Islamic marriage that must follow their own procedures. You should get a lawyer to advise you on what to do. Ordinance marriage can be done with or without parental consent. Do you have to have the same name as to the one on the registrar certificate as to the marriage certificate? Mawuto enye akpe. Thank you. It creates real equality from a government perspective. Search your local courthouse website to find out the fee in your jurisdiction. Me and my partner are Nigerian. My ex-husband and I have been separated for the past ten years since he abandoned me and took off leaving no traces of his whereabout. Only registered ones will be given any legal consideration.Dissolution of customary marriages are usually done based on the required procedure of the culture in question. It criminalizes "unnatural carnal knowledge" in section 104 (1) (b) of its Criminal Offences . The Prerequisite Before Exchanging Marital Vows In Ghana Are As Follows: (1.) This paper explores the use of customary law tribunals as part of the delivery of justice services to this population in common law African countries. My husband married a foreigner in 2003 in court (in Ghana) and he married me in 2010 in the customarily.i didnt know he had a wife until recently.what can I do?we have two kids. I need marriage guidance / consult. I and my husband got married through ordinance.the notice nd everything was done but the certificate was not issued .Now I want a divorce should I go to court.pls I need help urgently. This type of marriage is based on tradition and existed long before Marriage under Ordinance/White/Church weddings, which were introduced by western influence. Under Act 367, adultery is defined as the voluntary sexual Your email address will not be published. What Are The Legal Adoption Procedures In Ghana? Im american women living in the untied States. You would be issued a payment receipt after hav. At the time of the divorce, either party to the marriage was; . I was going to travel to Ghana at the time we will marry. Marriage Is A Religious Sanction. This is not a conclusive evidence. Thank you. However, at least, one of the parties to the marriage (or one of the partners) must be living in Ghana for some number of days (about 1 month), to obtain a Registrars Certificate. The cost includes the notice of marriage, registration certificate, and signing ceremony. The content of this article is intended to provide a general I and my boyfriend are both students and above 18yearswe both Christians and we dont want to dishonour God by having sex before marriage. Required fields are marked *. Henry, youre not in any position to determine how you perform a marriage custom based on your judgement about whether a father took care of his daughters upbringing or not. is no intention to return. What should he be saying to the person at the court house to be able to apply now, before I arrive? Wiki User. marriage. the adultery, if the couple lives together for more than six months How many days in advance do we need to file for a certificate or register ? how do we get the marriage certificate for the wedding day pls? My fianc lives there currently. The latest data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) have revealed that 553,065 persons in Ghana have had their marriages dissolved while 405,090 have separated. I will suggest you verify your marriage certificate from the church is registered in Court. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In fact both perform the same types of marriage registrations. This is because some churches have officiants who have the license to perform marriages under the law. Sir thanks for education What exactly you need to do. Maintenance - spousal maintenance can be claimed when a spouse dies from the deceased estate. Or do we have to file some documents or do a wedding in Ghana for it to be recognized under Ghanaian law. intercourse of a married person with a person of the opposite sex Or doesnt have to be necessarily your parents its optional once your 21yrs and over. If proof of your consent is what the officer wants, he/she should just demand that. Thats the usual trend. I am the 2nd wife. Thank you. He had helped to hide her from us and lied about knowing where she is at. (41) Of 2022 On Civil Personal Status, Civil Marriage, Divorce: UAE Personal Status Law Takes Effect. disadvantages of court marriage in ghana. of divorce proceedings. One of the couple, at least, must be normally resident in Ghana, or must be staying in the country 15 days before filing a notice of marriage. Both parties must be present for the marriage procedure. Is it compulsory to have witnesses and what if you want it to be secret just between the two of you. Mr. George AgboKlu. It is important to note that if you are the Petitioner, I need reply please. Sometimes officers demand a letter of consent and a photocopy of a page of the passport from the absentee partner as proof of consent. have not lived as man and wife has been continuous, the Court shall My girlfriend and, we are preparing to marry this April. Notification of divorce has to be given to the registrars office if the marriage was registered. My beau and I would like to have an ordinance marriage, but would like to have it done at a non-registered location. You can register, I suppose, as many customary/Islamic weddings as possible. percent of marriages in contemporary Ghana entered solely under the customary system (AwusaboAsare, 1990). lived together for more than six months after one becomes aware of However, for the avoidance of doubt, Court means the High Court or the Circuit Court (section 43 of Act 367 subject to the Chief Justice's power to transfer action under . It proves the legality of the marriage; It protects the rights of both partners. Im getting married in 6 months. divorce. Can I still go ahead and have the ordinance marriage? disadvantages of court marriage in ghana Most importantly, court marriages are completely legal, secure, and authentic because there are parameters set by the Governments of India to ensure the validity of marriage taking place in the court. That is, they must make the marriage complete by having sexual intercourse. The This is the most commonly relied upon fact for divorce. determining whether the period for which the parties to a marriage My question is can my father file in for the certificate on our behalf so we in Ghana in time to do the court wedding and traditional marriage ceremony??? As such, it is monogamous and does not permit any other marriage unions (registered or otherwise) with other parties. The Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367), governs the current The fee will be paid in person to a local clerk. 2(1) (b), in determining whether a petitioner cannot reasonably be So without a customary marriage if i understood cant anyone marry under the ordinance? My mother bargains with sabzi-waale bhaiya for 5 rupees. Thank you, Hello Geoge am Dela 28 ,married my fiance who lives in the USA traditionally but now we want to register our marriage .i went to AMA to enquire about that and they said I need to register first for 21 days but my fiance needs to be available but if she is not here in the country yet she needs to write a letter of CONCESSION LETTER to them before I can register .Our problem is we dont know how such letters are written .Can you help us or refer us to someone to help us in writing such letter .Thanks, Hi George, Im Nana kwadwo. Wondering, do you necessarily have to exchange rings during this ceremony? The courts also have the ability to grant a divorce, and usually do so within the ritual boundaries of the cultures in question. it intolerable to live with the Respondent. A petition for divorce may be presented to Hello sir, I have an American girlfriend who is coming down on the 2nd May,2016 for us to get married on the 5th of May,2016. Please my question is, am I at liberty to marry without going through any any long divorce process since someone has come to ask for my hand in marriage. And how do we go about it? as husband and wife for a continuous period of at least two years Yes. the presentation of the petition". Can I have a court marriage and obtain the marriage certificate and after sometime have a church wedding at the Catholic Church with the same lady and have another marriage certificate? We want the ordinance marriage. If I go to my man in July can we apply for marriage ceremony and get married while Im there? immediately preceding the presentation of the Good morning sir, Id like to ask you some few questions regarding marriage in Ghana.