The existence and proof of customary marriages for purposes of Road Accident Fund claims

Abstract

The enactment of section 31 of the Black Laws Amendment Act 76 of 1963 has been hailed as an important milestone in law reform (see Dlamini "Claim by Widow of a Customary Union for Loss of Support" 1984 SALJ 346). The main aim behind the enactment was to grant the widow of a customary marriage the right to "claim damages for loss of support from any person who unlawfully causes the death of her husband or is legally liable in respect thereof; provided that, at the time of his death, neither of them was a party to a subsisting civil marriage and that the customary marriage was also subsisting at that time" (Bekker Seymour's Customary Law in Southern Africa 1989 379; and see also Pasela v Rondalia Versekeringskorporasie van SA Bpk 1967 1 SA 339 (W)).