With the abolition of apartheid and the introduction of a new constitutional dispensation, the state’s totalitarian exclusion of homosexuals from legal recognition was relegated to a past era. The constitutional commitment to human dignity and equality and the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination led to the recognition of same-sex life partnerships and, inevitably, same-sex marriage by means of a civil union regime. The object of this study is to investigate the scope of the legal consequences provided to same-sex couples by the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 and to determine the legal standing of same-sex couples who fall outside the ambit of the Act. The study includes constitutional arguments pertaining to the continued recognition of same-sex life partnerships and a critical analysis of the constitutionality of the Civil Union Act as a separate measure to govern same-sex marriage. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. / Private Law / LL.M. (Private Law)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie ondersoek is navorsing gedoen oor die Romeinse huweliksverhouding ten einde vas te stel of die klassieke Romeinse reg die Romeinse vrou se huweliksverhouding beskerm het indien dit deur haar man se wangedrag geskend is. Die navorsing het getoon dat, soos in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg, die Romeinse huweliksverhouding teen die klassieke tydperk 'n consortium omnis vitae met veral morele huwelikspligte was en dat die nie-nakoming van hierdie pligte op wangedrag en skending van die huweliksverhouding neergekom het. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat, soos in die moderne reg, ook die Romeinse man die huweliksverhouding kon skend deur wangedrag, beperkte vorme van seksuele wangedrag, iniuria en bigamie. Die klassieke Romeinse reg het egter nie aan die Romeinse vrou direkte regsbeskerming verleen by die man se skending van die huweliksverhouding deur wangedrag nie. Sy het egter wel indirekte regsbeskerming in die vorm van toevlugof afskrikmiddels (soos egskeiding en die dos) geniet. / In this study research has been done on the Roman marital relationship in order to determine whether classical Roman law protected the Roman wife's marital relationship if it had been breached by her husband's misconduct. Research has shown that by the classical period, as in South African law, the Roman marital relationship was a consortium omnis vitae with primarily moral marital duties. Non-compliance with these duties amounted to misconduct and breach of the marital relationship. It was concluded that, as in modern law, the Roman husband too could be in breach of his marital relationship through misconduct, limited forms of sexual misconduct, iniuria and bigamy. However, classical Roman law did not grant the Roman wife any direct legal protection where her husband was in breach of the marital relationship because of misconduct. She nevertheless enjoyed indirect legal protection in the form of deterrents (such as divorce and the dos). / Law / LL.M.

This study focuses on marital rape in Ethiopia in the context of international human rights law. Marital rape refers to rape committed against women by their lawful husbands. Like rape that is committed by strangers, marital rape has a severe impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of victims. Consequently, marital rape violates a range of human rights, such as the right to human dignity, right to bodily integrity, right to privacy, as well as the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Marital rape is recognised as one of the forms of violence against women under international human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia. In addition, the Constitution of Ethiopia recognises the right to equality between women and men during marriage, and prohibits the enactment of laws and policies that discriminate against women. Studies have shown that the prevalence of marital rape is high in Ethiopia. Despite this fact, the Current Criminal Code of Ethiopia does not regard marital rape as a criminal offence and as a result there is no punishment on the part of perpetrators of this offence. Consequently, this gives husbands the license to rape their wives without any consequence. Owing to various socio-cultural factors, victims of marital rape in Ethiopia do not report these incidents to the police. The fact that there are no remedies under the criminal justice system, also discourages victims from reporting such incidents. This study, argues that by virtue of adopting human rights instruments at both the UN and AU level which prohibits violence against women, Ethiopia is under obligation to criminalize marital rape. South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that criminalises marital rape. According to the 1993 Prevention of Family Violence Act, stipulates a man can be found guilty of raping his wife. Later on, the Act was amended by the Family Violence Act of 1998, which gives protection to victims of domestic violence. Despite the criminalisation of marital rape in South Africa, studies indicate that marital rape is still prevalent in the country owing to numerous socio-economic and cultural factors. Hence, from the experience of South Africa it can be understood that criminalizing marital rape alone is not enough to tackle the problem. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LLM

With the advent of a new constitutional dispensation in South Africa, intimate relationships that were not formally recognised, such as customary marriages, became fully recognised through designated legislation. Domestic partnerships are, however, afforded only limited recognition despite compelling reasons that lead people to domestic partnerships. Domestic partners are also discriminated against based on marital status despite a Constitution that forbids discrimination based on equality, human dignity and marital status. The object of this study is to investigate whether there are sufficient grounds to afford domestic partnerships full recognition similar to that granted to civil marriage. This study includes arguments in favour and against the recognition of domestic partnerships and a discussion of the reasons that lead people into domestic partnerships. There will also be an analysis of the draft Domestic Partnership Bill 36 of 2008 to determine the suitability of the draft Bill to regulate domestic partnerships. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant draft Bills, legislation, and case law. / Private Law / LLM

This study focuses on marital rape in Ethiopia in the context of international human rights law. Marital rape refers to rape committed against women by their lawful husbands. Like rape that is committed by strangers, marital rape has a severe impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of victims. Consequently, marital rape violates a range of human rights, such as the right to human dignity, right to bodily integrity, right to privacy, as well as the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Marital rape is recognised as one of the forms of violence against women under international human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia. In addition, the Constitution of Ethiopia recognises the right to equality between women and men during marriage, and prohibits the enactment of laws and policies that discriminate against women. Studies have shown that the prevalence of marital rape is high in Ethiopia. Despite this fact, the Current Criminal Code of Ethiopia does not regard marital rape as a criminal offence and as a result there is no punishment on the part of perpetrators of this offence. Consequently, this gives husbands the license to rape their wives without any consequence. Owing to various socio-cultural factors, victims of marital rape in Ethiopia do not report these incidents to the police. The fact that there are no remedies under the criminal justice system, also discourages victims from reporting such incidents. This study, argues that by virtue of adopting human rights instruments at both the UN and AU level which prohibits violence against women, Ethiopia is under obligation to criminalize marital rape. South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that criminalises marital rape. According to the 1993 Prevention of Family Violence Act, stipulates a man can be found guilty of raping his wife. Later on, the Act was amended by the Family Violence Act of 1998, which gives protection to victims of domestic violence. Despite the criminalisation of marital rape in South Africa, studies indicate that marital rape is still prevalent in the country owing to numerous socio-economic and cultural factors. Hence, from the experience of South Africa it can be understood that criminalizing marital rape alone is not enough to tackle the problem. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LL. M.

This project considers the ways in which Wiccan marriage and American marriage law interact with each other. The thesis examines certain aspects of the history of 20th-century American marriage law, the concurrent development of contemporary marriage ritual in Wicca, developing problems in this area, and possible solutions. In particular, the project focuses on the recognition of religious groups and their officials as they are authorized by state and federal law to perform marriages and how this process has affected Wiccan ritual.

本文係為探討婚姻法學研究對西歐於文藝復興、宗教改革以及婚姻還俗運動前之婚姻法沿空白所撰。並以「世俗」及「教會」兩個角度切入，依照「羅馬帝國」（西元1-476年）、「初代教會」（1-500年）、「中世紀初期」（500-1000年）、復興改革時期（1000-1200年）之歷史沿革，探討今日婚姻法中諸如婚姻之本質、婚姻之成立、婚姻障礙、婚姻成立後之權利義務及婚姻之解消等制度之由來與發展。 首先，在羅馬帝國方面。按此時期之羅馬婚姻法對「嫁妝」著墨最多，似可顯示羅馬婚姻之重點乃在婚姻締結後對男方家族財產之重新分配，而非單純身分關係之新設、連結與延伸。在此同時，亦可察見自西元一世紀起，源自聖經之教會婚姻觀，強調婚姻之本質係「丈夫與妻子連合，兩人成為一體」之「兩人一體」關係，婚姻之成立係儀式婚，成立後，丈夫與妻子需秉持「愛與順服」彼此相待，且因婚姻為「神所結合，所以人不能分開」而衍生出婚姻不可解消之基本信念。 進入中世紀初期，「神本」之婚姻觀雖藉由散落各地之教會而廣為傳播，然而，對上層王公貴族，即使有如法蘭西之卡洛琳王朝般，與教會關係良好之政權，但一般上層階級，為維護其家族利益，繼承財產與個人私慾，對「兩人一體」之婚姻觀與「婚姻不解消」主義，仍是敬謝不敏，至多於犯罪後前住教會懺悔認罪，或在晚年進入修道院度此餘生。故中世紀初期之聖俗婚姻觀影響結果，係呈現「下聖上俗」之光景。 經歷過千禧年後，整個西歐來說似可稱為進入一個「復興改革時期」。在婚姻規範方面，或因教會改革奏效，民心歸向，且部分國王亦完全服膺教會婚姻規範，故上層階級之婚姻亦逐漸展現「由俗入聖」之趨。在婚姻法制方面，則在1140年左右由格拉濟亞，藉由教會法制史首見之科學分析方式，交出名為「不和諧教會法之調合」(Concordia discordantium canonum, A Harmony of Conflicting Canons)之法令集（Decretum），其內之婚姻法案例堪稱教會婚姻法一千多年來之結晶，堪稱為西歐婚姻法制化之源頭。 綜上，本研究發現今日婚姻法之法制起源，並非僅源自於十六世紀之法國民法，而係早在十二世紀之教會婚姻法中便可窺見其萌芽之蹤影，而今日婚姻法中受教會婚姻法影響者，亦非如一般教科書所稱僅「婚姻不解消」一端，而係包括「意思婚」、「一夫一妻制」及「異性婚」，並且禁止「重婚」、「內婚」均直接或間接受十二世紀教會婚姻法之影響。 / Abstract The study was to explore the vacant development of marriage legal history before Renaissance, Religious Reformation and marriage returned to secular(movement de la sécularization du marriage) in Western Europe. Based on the four periods of history including “Roman Empire”(A.D1~A.D476),“the early church” (A.D1~A.D500), “Middle Age(A.D500~A.D1000)”, “the period of renew and reform (A.D1000~A.D1200)”, the study explored the origin and the development of today’s marriage law such as the essence, establishment, obstacle of the marriage, the right and obligation after getting marriage, and the dissolution of marriage, etc. At first, the law of marriage in Roman Empire was established on “Dos’’(dowry) a lot. It showed that the main focus of Roman marriage was on re-allotting the properties of the male’s family instead of simply reconstituting connecting and extending two persons’ relationship after getting marriage. Meanwhile from the first century, the law of marriage in the Church derived from Holy Bible emphasized the essence of marriage on the relationship of “two will became one flesh” in “A man will be united to his wife and they will become on flesh”. And through a ceremony, the marriage was established. After the ceremony, husband and wife should treat each other with love and obedience. Moreover ,the basic conviction of no dissolution after of the marriage was derived from that the marriage was established on the belief “what God has joined together ,let man not separate”. During Middle Age (A.D 500~ A.D 1000), although the churches which spread over everyplace disseminated extensively the concept of “marriage rooted in God”, the upper class of society still didn’t approve the marriage concept of “two will become one flesh” and the conviction of no dissolution of the marriage, since they wanted to safeguard their family benefits, inherit properties, and satisfy their personal desire. Even like Carolingain dynasty in France which maintained good relationship with the Church was also in the same position. The upper class most went to the church and confessed their sin after committing crime, or spent the rest of their elder life in the abbey. As a result , the marriage of the lower class was holy and the upper class was secular showed during Middle Age. To Western Europe, after millennium seemed to be called the period of renew and reformation. (A.D 1000~ A.D 1200). Since reformation in the Church showed results , the public attitude was for the Church, and some kings completely obeyed the marriage regulations of the Church, the marriage in the upper class also gradually displayed from secular to holy tendency. On the marriage legal system, Gratian composed a Decretum named “Concordia discordantium canonnum, A Harmony of Conflicting Canons” in A.D.1140 . The Causae of Decretum was recognized as the excellent piece of Church one thousand years age and the origin of marriage legal system in Western Europe. The study found that the origin of today’s marriage legal system was not only derived from French Civil Law in the sixteenth century, but from marriage law in the Church in the twelfth century, And marriage law of the church in the twelfth century impacted today’s marriage law in many aspects. The influence was not only limited on the conviction of no dissolution action of the marriage as the common textbooks declared so, but directly or indirectly on the conviction of “ consensual marriage” ,“monogamy”, and on forbidding “ plural bigamy marriage” and “consanguine marriage.

Zugl.: Düsseldorf, RSH, Diss., 2004.

With the abolition of apartheid and the introduction of a new constitutional dispensation, the state’s totalitarian exclusion of homosexuals from legal recognition was relegated to a past era. The constitutional commitment to human dignity and equality and the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination led to the recognition of same-sex life partnerships and, inevitably, same-sex marriage by means of a civil union regime. The object of this study is to investigate the scope of the legal consequences provided to same-sex couples by the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 and to determine the legal standing of same-sex couples who fall outside the ambit of the Act. The study includes constitutional arguments pertaining to the continued recognition of same-sex life partnerships and a critical analysis of the constitutionality of the Civil Union Act as a separate measure to govern same-sex marriage. This investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. / Private Law / LL.M. (Private Law)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie ondersoek is navorsing gedoen oor die Romeinse huweliksverhouding ten einde vas te stel of die klassieke Romeinse reg die Romeinse vrou se huweliksverhouding beskerm het indien dit deur haar man se wangedrag geskend is. Die navorsing het getoon dat, soos in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg, die Romeinse huweliksverhouding teen die klassieke tydperk 'n consortium omnis vitae met veral morele huwelikspligte was en dat die nie-nakoming van hierdie pligte op wangedrag en skending van die huweliksverhouding neergekom het. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat, soos in die moderne reg, ook die Romeinse man die huweliksverhouding kon skend deur wangedrag, beperkte vorme van seksuele wangedrag, iniuria en bigamie. Die klassieke Romeinse reg het egter nie aan die Romeinse vrou direkte regsbeskerming verleen by die man se skending van die huweliksverhouding deur wangedrag nie. Sy het egter wel indirekte regsbeskerming in die vorm van toevlugof afskrikmiddels (soos egskeiding en die dos) geniet. / In this study research has been done on the Roman marital relationship in order to determine whether classical Roman law protected the Roman wife's marital relationship if it had been breached by her husband's misconduct. Research has shown that by the classical period, as in South African law, the Roman marital relationship was a consortium omnis vitae with primarily moral marital duties. Non-compliance with these duties amounted to misconduct and breach of the marital relationship. It was concluded that, as in modern law, the Roman husband too could be in breach of his marital relationship through misconduct, limited forms of sexual misconduct, iniuria and bigamy. However, classical Roman law did not grant the Roman wife any direct legal protection where her husband was in breach of the marital relationship because of misconduct. She nevertheless enjoyed indirect legal protection in the form of deterrents (such as divorce and the dos). / Law / LL.M.