Marriages, Births and Deaths Amendment Act
STAATSKOERANT VAN DIE REPUBLIEK VAN SUID-AFRIKA
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
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KAAPSTAD, 23 APRIL 1986
CAPE TOWN, 23 APRIL 1986 No. 10211
KANTOOR VANDIESTAATSPRESIDENT STATE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
No. 772. 23 April1986 No. 772. 23 April1986
Hierby word bekend gemaak dat die Staatspresident sy
fl
oedkeuring geheg het aan die onderstaande Wet wat · rby ter algemene inligting gepubliseer word:-
~~. 41 van 1986: Wysigingswet op Huwelike, Geboortes ~n Sterfgevalle, 1986.
It is hereby notified that the State President has assented to the following Act which is hereby published for general information:-
No. 41 of 1986: Marriages, Births and Deaths Amend- ment Act, 1986.
Please note that most Acts are published in English and another South African official language. Currently we only have capacity to publish the English versions. This means that this document will only contain even
numbered pages as the other language is printed on uneven numbered pages.
GOVERNMENT.GAZBJTE, 23 APRIL 1986 No.10211 3
MARRIA1UES, BIRTHS AND DEATHS AMENDMENT ACT, 1986 Act No. 41, 1986
GENERAL EXPLANATORY NOTE:
[ l Words in bold type in square brackets indicate omissions from existing enactments.
Words underlined with solid line indicate insertions in existing enactments.
"ACT To amend the Marriage Act, 1961, so as to delete certain provis-
ions relating to Blacks; to amend the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act, 1963, so as to provide that certain incumbents shaD be ex officio registrars of births and deaths; to delete certain provisions relating to Blacks; to bring the provisions relating to the registration of births of South African citizens which took place abroad into line with the provisions of the South African Citizenship Act, 1949; to provide that births which took place in a magisterial district other than that in which the parents in question reside, may also be reported to the magistrate of the latter district or to the regional representative in question; to define a "name" for the purpose of the registration of births; to proyide that the natural father of an illegitimate child may grant consent that the child be registered under his surname; and to pro- vide for incidental matters.
(Afrikaans text signed by the State President.) (Assented to 14April1986.)
BE IT ENACTED by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
1. Section 1 of the Marriage Act, 1961, is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of "Minister" of the following
5 definition: "'Minister' means the Minister of Home Affairs [the In-
terior or, in relation to any person who is a Black as defined in the Population Registration Act, 1950 (Act No. 30 of 1950), or is a native (excluding a Nama) as
Amendment of section 1 of Act 25 of 1961, as amended by section 1 of Act 51 of 1970.
10 defined in section 2S of the Native Administration Pro- clamation, 1928 (Proclamation No. 15 of 1928), of South-West Africa, the Minister of Plural Relations and Development];".
2. Section 38A of the Marriage Act, 1961, is hereby repealed. Repeal of section 38A of Act25 of 1961, as inserted by section 12 of Act 51 of 1970.
15 3. Section 39 of the Marriage Act, 1961, is hereby amended by Amendment of the deletion of subsection ( 5). section 39 of
Act 25 of 1961.
4. Section 1 of the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Amendment of Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), is here- section 1 of by amended- Act 81 of 1%3,
20 (a) by the substitution for the definition of "area•' of the :!c~~~n1d~t by following definition: Act 58 of 1970 '"area' means, when used in relation to a registrar or and section 1 of
assistant registrar, the magisterial district or part . Act 35 of l982.
GOVERNMENT GAZETIE, 23 APRIL 1986
MARRIAGES, BIRTHS AND DEATHS AMENDMENT ACT, 1986
thereof, police area, serving area of a regional rep- resentative of the Department of Home Affairs, area for which a Commissioner has been appointed in terms of section 2 (2) of the Black Administra-
5 tion Act, 1927 (Act No. 38 of 1927), country or territory in respect of which such registrar or assistant registrar has been designated or appoint- ed or is acting as such;";
(b) by the insertion after the definition of "chief registrar" 10 of the following definition:
" 'Commissioner' means a Commissioner appointed under the Black Administration Act, 1927 (Act No. 38 of 1927);";
(c) by the substitution for the definition of "Director-Gen- 15 era!" of the following definition:
"'Director-General' means the Director-General: [In- ternal] ~ Affairs [or, for the purposes of the application of this Act in respect of a Black, the Di- rector-General: Co-operation and Development];";
20 (d) by the substitution for the definition of "Minister" of the following definition: " 'Minister' means the Minister of Home Affairs [the
Interior or, for the purposes of the application of this Act in respect of a Black, the Minister of Plural
25 Relations and Development];" ; (e) by the deletion of the definition of "Republic"; and (f) by the insertion after the definition of "prescribed" of
the following definition: "'regional representative' means any person appointed
30 as regional representative of the Department of Home Affairs for a specified area;".
35
40
45
5. Section 3 of the principal Act is hereby amended- ( a) by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following
subsection: "(1) Subject to the provisions of [subsection] subsec-
tions (1A) and (2), the Director-General, or any officer or the holder of any office in the public service author- ized thereto by him, may, for the purposes of the appli- cation of this Act, designate officers or employees or the holders of offices in the public service, or other per- sons, as registrars and assistant registrars of births and deaths in respect of a magisterial district or part there- of."; and
(b) by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:
"(1A) A regional representative or a Commissioner is a registrar of births and deaths in respect of the area for which he has been appointed.".
6. Section 3A of the principal Act is hereby repealed.
51• 7. Section 7A of the principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of subsection (lA).
No.10211 5
Act No. 41, 1986
Amendment of section 3 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 3 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Repeal of section 3A of Act 81 of 1963, as inserted by section 4 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 7 A of Act 81 of 1963, as inserted by section 2 of Act 18 of 1968, substituted by section 9 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
GOVERNMENT GAZETIE, 23 APRIL 1986 No.l0211 7
MARRIAGES, BIRTHS AND DEATHS AMENDMENT ACT, 1986 Act No. 41, 1986
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8. Section SA of the principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:
"(1A) A person under the age of 21 years who was born out of wedlock, and whose birth was registered under. his mother's surname, may, if his father acknowledges in writ- ing himself to be the father of that person and the mother of that person grants her consent, apply to the Director-Gen- eral for the alteration of his surname in the birth register to the surname of his father.".
9. Section 9 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the ad- dition of the following subsection:
"(3) For the purposes of this section 'name' means the word or words by which a person is designated as an indi- vidual and which precedes or precede his surname.".
15 10. Section 10 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection: ·
"(3) The birth of a child born out of wedlock shall be registered under the surname of- ( a) his mother; or
20 (b) his father, provided the latter has made the acknowl- edgement contemplated in subsection (2) and the mother has consented.".
11. Section 13 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for the words preceding the proviso of the following
25 words: "Any person holding in accordance with any law any in- quest or other enquiry as to the death of any person shall forthwith on completion of such inquest or other enquiry furnish the prescribed particulars in respect of the death to
30 [(i) if the deceased person was a Black, the registrar or assistant registrar concerned; or
(ii) if the deceased person was not a Black, the Director- General] the registrar or assistant registrar con- cerned:". -
35 12. Section 16 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:
"(2) Any police officer in charge of a police station or in charge or temporarily in charge of a police mortuary, or any police officer in charge of a charge office, may issue, on be-
40 half of the registrar or assistant registrar concerned, to a person having the charge of the body of [a Black] any per- ~ who has died outside the Republic, a burial order auth- orizing the burial of such body, if the place where the body is to be buried is situated within the police area in which the
45 police station, police mortuary or charge office concerned is situated, where such officer considers it necessary to issue such an order in order to avoid delay or inconvenience, and any such officer shall as soon as possible after the issue by him of such an order advise the registrar or assistant regis-
50 trar concerned in writing of the issue thereof.".
Amendment of section SA of Act 81 of 1963, as inserted by section 3 of Act 18 of 1968, substituted by section 11 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 3 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 9 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 12 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 10 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 13 of Act 58 of 1970.
Amendment of section 13 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 16 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 16 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 18 of Act 58 of 1970.
13. The following section is hereby substituted for section 17 A Substitution of of the principal Act: section 17 A of
Act 81 of 1963, "Registra- 17A. (1) If a person is born outside the Republic,. as inserted by tion of cer- · S h Af · · · b · section 20 of
5 tain births and that person ts a out ncan cttlzen y vtrtue Act 58 of 1970_
5 and deaths of the provisions of section 6 (1) (a) of the South takinS place African Citizenship Act, 1949 (Act No. 44 of 1949), ~~~~b\i~~e if his birth is registered in terms of the provisions of
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 23 APRIL 1986 No.10211 9
MARRIAGES, BIRTHS AND DEATHS AMENDMENT ACT, 1986 Act No. 41, 1986
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this section, his birth may, subject to the provisions of section 7, be registered by the registrar or assist- ant registrar concerned contemplated in section 3 (3) or ( 4) provided that the prescribed particulars are furnished to that official and the applicant complies with all other provisions of this Act and the regu- lations made thereunder.
(2) If a South African citizen dies. outside the Re- public, or a person who is usually resident in the Re- public dies outside the Republic and the registrar or assistant registrar concerned contemplated in section 3 (3) or (4) is furnished with the prescribed particu- lars relating to the death, he shall register the death.
(3) A registrar or assistant registrar contemplated in subsection (1) or (2) shall, upon payment of the prescribed fees (if any), issue a certificate in the pre- scribed form in respect of a birth or death regis- tered in terms of those subsections.".
14. Section 19 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the Amendment of 20 addition to subsection (1) of the following proviso: sect10n 19 of
"Provided that if the father or mother of the child is resi- Act 81 of 1963, ,.-..,...,..,....,...,....,-...,-=-:-~=~===...,....r::~"'t:"!=~==:-:n as substituted by
dent in an area other t an that in which the Irt occurred, section 23 of that father or mother may give the prescribed notice or in- Act 58 of 1970. formation to the registrar in whose area his or her residen-
25 tial address is or to the regional representative of the area iri which that residential address is.".
15. Section 22 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the Amendment of substitution for subsection ( 4) of the following subsection: section 22 of
" (4) [In the case of the death of a Black a] A notice in Act 81 of 1963, 30
. . - as substituted by terms of subsectiOn (1) may be received, and an order section 26 of under subsection (2) may be issued, on behalf of the regis- Act 58 of 1970 trar or assistant registrar concerned by any police officer in andt.ame
4 ndfed by
h f I. . . h .1 . sec 10n o c arge o a po Ice statiOn or m c arge or temporan y m Act 35 of 1982. charge of a police mortuary, or any police officer in charge
35 of a charge office, in the district or area in which the death occurred, where such officer considers it necessary to re- ceive such notice and to issue such order in order to avoid delay or inconvenience, and any such officer who receives such a notice and issues such an order shall as soon as pos-
40 sible thereafter advise the registrar or assistant registrar con- cerned in writing accordingly, and at the same time transmit to him the notice and any medical certificate in respect of the cause of death, or any certificate referred to in section 13A (2) or 26, so received by him.".
45 16. Section 29 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:
"(2) A removal order required in terms of subsection (1) may [in the case of the death of a Black] be issued by any police officer in charge of a police station or in charge or
50 temporarily in charge of a police mortuary, 9r any police officer in charge of a charge office, in the district or area in which the death occurred, where such officer considers it necessary to issue such order in order to avoid delay or in- convenience, and any such officer who issues such an order
55 shall as soon as possible thereafter advise the registrar or · assistant registrar concerned in writing of the issue there- of.".
Amendment of section 29 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 32 of Act 58 of 1970.
GOVERNMENTGAZETI'E, 23 APRIL 1986
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MARRIAGES, BIR1HS AND DEA1HS AMENDMENT ACf, 1986
17. Section 36 of the principal Act is hereby repealed.
18. Section 40 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:
"(1) The marriage officer solemnizing any marriage [be- tween parties of whom the male is not a Black], the parties thereto and at least two competent witnesses shall sign a register and two copies of the register of such marriage in the prescribed form before they leave the premises where the marriage took place.".
19. Section 41 of the principal Act is hereby repealed.
20. Section 42 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of the proviso to subsection ( 1).
21. Section 50 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of the following
15 paragraph: "(d) [prescribing] authorizing the Director-General to issue
directions and to prescribe any forms, certificates, cer- tified extracts, notices or registers to be used in connec- tion with the registration of births, marriages and
20 deaths and as to the purposes for which they may be used; as to the correction or alteration of and addition to any such forms, certificates, notices or registers or any forms, certificates, certified extracts, notices or registers deemed to have been prescribed under this
25 Act; and for the disposal, safe custody and preservation thereof;".
22. Anything done under a provision of the Marriage Act, 1961, or under a provision of the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act, 1963, prior to the amendment of that provis-
30 ion by this Act, is deemed to have been done under the cor- responding provision of this Act.
No.10211 11
Act No. 41, 19116
Repeal of section 36 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 35 of Act 58 of 1970.
Amendment of section 40 of Act 81 of 1963, as substituted by section 40 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Repeal of section 41 of
· Act 81 of 1963, as amended by section 41 of Act 58 of 1970 and section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 42 of Act 81 of 1963, as amended by section 4 of Act 18 of 1968, section 42 of Act 58 of 1970 and section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Amendment of section 50 of Act 81 of 1%3, as substituted by section 44 of Act 58 of 1970 and amended by section 4 of Act 35 of 1982.
Saving.
23. This Act is called the Marriages, Births and Deaths Short title. Amendment Act, 1986.