A marriage certificate, proof of marriage, signifies that one has graduated from single to married status. A marriage shall be celebrated by a civil status registrar of the place of birth or residence of one or both spouses, as indicated in Article 48 of the Law. The following is, therefore,
1) Name of the principal or secondary civil status Centre or name of the Centre to which it is mainly attached
2) Name, surname, date and place of birth, nationality, profession and domicile of the husband
3) Consent of the parents in case of minor children
4) Place and date of the celebration of the marriage
5) Mention the type of marriage: whether it is polygamy or monogamy,
6) Mention of management of property, either community or separation of property,
7) Name and surname of witnesses,
8. Name and surname of the civil status registrar and secretary,
9) Signature of the spouse’s witnesses and the civil status registrar and secretary.
*Mention of the marriage shall be made in the margin of the birth certificate of each of the spouses in compliance with Article 19 of the Law and by the initiative of the competent civil status registrar. Failure to forward a copy of such registration shall be punished by a fine of five hundred francs (500FCFA) to be imposed by the competent state Counsel. In case of divorce, mention of it shall be made on the birth and marriage certificates of the spouses on the initiative of the legal department.
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Article 19 (NEW) (1) States, “Where a reference to a civil status certificate must be made in the margin of a certificate already registered, this shall be done automatically or at the request of one of the parties.”
(2) “The civil status registrar who drew up or registered the certificate, to which the reference shall be made, shall forthwith make such reference in the register in his possession and forward an extract to the court of first instance territorially competent and a copy to the national civil status centre.”
(3) “Where the certificate on to which marginal notes must be made was drawn up or registered in another civil status registry, notice shall be given within 15 days to the civil status registry preserving the certificate and to the national centre.”
It automatically becomes an offence for spouses married monogamously to contract another marriage without first dissolving the previous one. Only a polygamous marriage authorizes a man to contract as many marriages as he deems fit, while a woman can only be married to one man at a given time. A marriage certificate, therefore, affects the party’s capacity in a monogamous marriage to remarry when the marriage has not been dissolved. Any attempt to apply oneself contrary to these laws so inscribed constitutes the crime of bigamy, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 359 of the Cameroon Penal Code (BIGAMY). Whosoever is in a polygamous contractual marriage, who contracts a monogamous marriage before the dissolution of all previous marriages or being married under the codified law, contracts any marriage before the dissolution of that former marriage shall be punished with imprisonment for up to two months to a maximum of two years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 25.000FCFA to 500.000FCFA. It is essential to know that the burden of proving any dissolution of any previous marriage is on the accused.
A civil status registrar should investigate the marital status of a person through publications of banns before contracting any marriage between parties. Many women have suffered the undesired effects of a marriage that never was.
A marriage is a contract from which flow rights and duties. One such right is co-habitation. If one party abandons or deserts another, they are liable to criminal sanctions under section 358 of the Cameroon Penal Code for desertion. Section 358 of the Penal Code states that any spouse or parent who without just cause evades, whether by the abandonment of the family home or otherwise however, the whole or part of his/her moral or material obligations towards his/her spouse or children shall be punished with imprisonment for three months to one year or with a fine from 5.000FCFA to 500.000FCFA or with both such imprisonment and fine. Where a spouse alone is deserted, no prosecution may commence without his/her complaint.
Marriage gives the right to inheritance. One spouse can inherit from the other. Marriage further gives rise to property rights depending on the choice of marriage. Joined or separate property. MARRIAGE
A marriage certificate, proof of marriage, signifies that one has graduated from single status to married status. A marriage shall be celebrated by a civil status registrar of the place of birth or residence of one or both spouses, as indicated in Article 48 of the Law. The following is, therefore, the content of a marriage certificate:
1) Name of the principal or secondary civil status centre or name of the Centre to which it is mainly attached
2) Name, surname, date and place of birth, nationality, profession and domicile of the husband
3) Consent of the parents in case of minor children
4) Place and date of the celebration of the marriage
5) Mention the type of marriage: whether it is polygamy or monogamy,
6) Mention of management of property, either community or separation of property,
7) Name and surname of witnesses,
8)Name and surname of the civil status registrar and secretary,
9) Signature of the spouse’s witnesses and the civil status registrar and secretary.
*Mention of the marriage shall be made in the margin of the birth certificate of each of the spouses in compliance with Article 19 of the Law and by the initiative of the competent civil status registrar. Failure to forward a copy of such registration shall be punished by a fine of five hundred francs (500FCFA) to be imposed by the competent state Counsel. In case of divorce, mention of it shall be made on the birth and marriage certificates of the spouses on the initiative of the legal department.
Article 19 (NEW) (1) States, “Where a reference to a civil status certificate must be made in the margin of a certificate already registered, this shall be done automatically or at the request of one of the parties.”
(2) “The civil status registrar who drew up or registered the certificate, to which the reference shall be made, shall forthwith make such reference in the register in his possession and forward an extract to the court of first instance territorially competent and a copy to the national civil status centre.”
(3) “Where the certificate on to which marginal notes must be made was drawn up or registered in another civil status registry, notice shall be given within 15 days to the civil status registry preserving the certificate and to the national centre.”
It automatically becomes an offence for spouses married monogamously to contract another marriage without first dissolving the previous one. Only a polygamous marriage authorizes a man to contract as many marriages as he deems fit, while a woman can only be married to one man at a given time. A marriage certificate, therefore, affects the party’s capacity in a monogamous marriage to remarry when the marriage has not been dissolved. Any attempt to apply oneself contrary to these laws so inscribed constitutes the crime of bigamy, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 359 of the Cameroon Penal Code (BIGAMY).
Whosoever is in a polygamous contractual marriage, who contracts a monogamous marriage before the dissolution of all previous marriages or being married under the codified law, contracts any marriage before the dissolution of that former marriage shall be punished with imprisonment for up to two months to a maximum of two years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 25.000FCFA to 500.000FCFA.
It is essential to know that the burden of proving any dissolution of any previous marriage is on the accused.
A civil status registrar should investigate the marital status of a person through publications of banns before contracting any marriage between parties. Many women have suffered the undesired effects of a marriage that never was.
A marriage is a contract from which flow rights and duties. One such right is co-habitation. If one party abandons or deserts another, they are liable to criminal sanctions under section 358 of the Cameroon Penal Code for desertion. Section 358 of the Penal Code states that any spouse or parent who without just cause evades, whether by the abandonment of the family home or otherwise however, the whole or part of their moral or material obligations towards their spouse or children shall be punished with imprisonment for three months to one year or with a fine from 5.000FCFA to 500.000FCFA or with both such imprisonment and fine. Where a spouse alone is deserted, no prosecution may commence without their complaint.
‘’The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. We insist specialist advice be sought depending on your specific circumstance’’
