Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act
The Nigerian Marriage Act 1914 provides certain preliminary formalities which a prospec- tive couple should comply with before celebrating statutory marriage. An examination of the reported decisions shows that the Act’s potency is whittled down because the courts have failed to purposively construe...
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Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
2016
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 2023-05-15T13:48:21+02:00 Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act Emeka Chianu 2016-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 DE EN FR ger eng fre Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/toc/2363-6270 2363-6270 doi:10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 Recht in Afrika, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 48-61 (2016) Asia and Eurasia Africa Pacific Area and Antarctica KL-KWX article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 2022-12-30T23:55:57Z The Nigerian Marriage Act 1914 provides certain preliminary formalities which a prospec- tive couple should comply with before celebrating statutory marriage. An examination of the reported decisions shows that the Act’s potency is whittled down because the courts have failed to purposively construe its salient provisions. Even though the Act is a century old, no social or moral development justifies a change; so little is suggested to reform the formality part of the Act. Rather, the article undertakes a diligent examination of the Act to ascertain its object, and finds that it is the promotion of monogamy in a society where, for the most part polygamy is the norm. It proffers a construction of the Act that promotes this object. It also suggests a stern judicial attitude that urges each prospective spouse to consci- entiously address his/her mind to his/her self-serving obligation to comply with the prelimi- nary formalities in the Act. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Tive ENVELOPE(12.480,12.480,65.107,65.107) Recht in Afrika 19 1 48 61 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
German English French |
topic |
Asia and Eurasia Africa Pacific Area and Antarctica KL-KWX |
spellingShingle |
Asia and Eurasia Africa Pacific Area and Antarctica KL-KWX Emeka Chianu Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
topic_facet |
Asia and Eurasia Africa Pacific Area and Antarctica KL-KWX |
description |
The Nigerian Marriage Act 1914 provides certain preliminary formalities which a prospec- tive couple should comply with before celebrating statutory marriage. An examination of the reported decisions shows that the Act’s potency is whittled down because the courts have failed to purposively construe its salient provisions. Even though the Act is a century old, no social or moral development justifies a change; so little is suggested to reform the formality part of the Act. Rather, the article undertakes a diligent examination of the Act to ascertain its object, and finds that it is the promotion of monogamy in a society where, for the most part polygamy is the norm. It proffers a construction of the Act that promotes this object. It also suggests a stern judicial attitude that urges each prospective spouse to consci- entiously address his/her mind to his/her self-serving obligation to comply with the prelimi- nary formalities in the Act. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emeka Chianu |
author_facet |
Emeka Chianu |
author_sort |
Emeka Chianu |
title |
Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
title_short |
Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
title_full |
Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
title_fullStr |
Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
title_full_unstemmed |
Formality of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria: Need for a Policy-Driven Construction of the Marriage Act |
title_sort |
formality of statutory marriage in nigeria: need for a policy-driven construction of the marriage act |
publisher |
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(12.480,12.480,65.107,65.107) |
geographic |
Pacific Tive |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Tive |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_source |
Recht in Afrika, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 48-61 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/toc/2363-6270 2363-6270 doi:10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 https://doaj.org/article/460a208041d84f0894a613def6e0b1b0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5771/2363-6270-2016-1-48 |
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Recht in Afrika |
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19 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
48 |
op_container_end_page |
61 |
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1766249145730859008 |