Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai has noted the Muslim Judicial Council’s backing of an application by the Women’s Legal Centre for the recognition of Muslim marriages infers that it realises there is an issue, says a report in The Witness.

‘They support (the applicant) in this instance, probably recognising there is a problem,’ he said. He pointed out that the majority of Muslims do not register their marriages, saying a greater degree of awareness may result in different consequences.

However, Anwar Albertus SC, for the Minister of Home Affairs, said that this remained a personal choice. Albertus said the Women’s Legal Centre – which brought the application – was ‘animated by good intentions’, but Desai countered they were animated by the lived experience of their clients.

When asked by Judge Gayaat Salie Hlophe if he was arguing that Muslim marriages should never be legislated, Albertus said this would be a function of legislature as ‘court is not the place for that’.

He asked for the dismissal of the application.

However, Andrea Gabriel SC, for the President, said the Constitution recognises the complexities of issues such as the one before court, allowing the legislature if it sees it necessary to codify, incorporate and treat religious systems as an enforceable source of law. She said the executive was attempting an ‘omnibus approach’ to deal with marriages in all religious systems ‘in one go, at one time’.

Full report in The Witness (subscription needed)