The Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab, has presented a bill in the National Assembly aimed at modernising divorce legislation for civil marriages.
The bill seeks to remove antiquated grounds for divorce, establish guidelines for child custody and support, manage financial implications post-divorce or annulment, and ensure procedural privacy.
Dausab has called for amendments to court laws to enhance the efficiency of divorce proceedings.
The bill aims to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all parties involved in the divorce proceedings.
This initiative follows consultations between the Law Reform and Development Commission and the Law Committee to reform the divorce law regime in Namibia.
The Commission's current proposal for a no-fault divorce regime originates from its first report on divorce, published in 2004, which contained a draft divorce law.
However, no legislative action was taken between 2004 and 2014, as it became apparent that further consultations with targeted stakeholders were required.
"It is, therefore, clear that the issues we aim to address with this bill have been longstanding challenges for over 20 years since the project was first initiated. Although this law should have been enacted long ago, the reforms underwent numerous reviews. We are now confident that this new draft piece of legislation meets the needs of the people and compensates for the delayed actions. This legislative framework relates to divorce in civil marriages in Namibia. The proposed legislative framework does not apply to customary marriages or the termination of customary marriages."
Dausab stated that the intention of the bill is not to undermine the institution of marriage but to provide a legal framework that offers necessary relief and protection to those in desperate situations, such as victims of domestic abuse or irreparable marital breakdowns.
She further stated that people have a constitutional right to choose whether they want to remain in a marriage.
Several members of Parliament made their contributions to the proposed bill.