ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the recognition of marital status across national boundaries. It focuses on the complications generated by different domestic rules regarding consanguinity and consent. The book also discusses same-sex relationships under international and regional human rights law. It describes customary marriages in South Africa and explains the legal requirements for a customary marriage. The book considers substantive and procedural aspects relating to the availability and grounds of divorce, the effort that is required to obtain a divorce, and the procedure to be followed to obtain a divorce. It examines distribution of property on divorce and shows that in jurisdictions where the traditional view of marriage as a union between a man and a woman with the man as the head of the family applies, wives usually have limited or no property and/or control over property.
