key to the study guide - Name

Marriageisnota
contract
Minor's marriage
FEEDBACK
The words you had to fill in are the following:
1 voluntary
2 man
3 one
4 exclusion
You should note that although marriage may look a lot like a contract it is
not a contract.
2 REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID MARRIAGE
It is very important that you study pages 17±19 and 28±35 of your
prescribed textbook on what is required for a valid marriage to come into
existence. If the requirements are not met the marriage is not valid.
ACTIVITY
Read the main headings in chapter 3 of your prescribed textbook and then
list the four legal requirements for a valid marriage.
FEEDBACK
The following four points should have been included in your list:
(1) capacitytoact
(2) consensus (agreement)
(3) the marriage must be lawful
(4) the prescribed formalities must be complied with
2.1 Capacity to act
In respect of the first requirement, capacity to act, you should note that
some persons are totally incapable of marrying because they have no
capacity to act. They include infantes (iechildrenbelowtheageof7)and
mentally ill persons. Certain people may marry but only with the consent
of certain other persons. The most important example of the latter class of
persons is that of minor children (ie children between 7 and 21 years).
Although minors under the age of puberty (12 years for girls and 14 years
for boys) may conclude various legal transactions with the assistance of
their parents, they are totally incapable of entering into a marriage. A girl
under the age of 12 and a boy under the age of 14 are therefore absolutely
incompetent to marry. The marriage of a minor is such a complicated
matter that we have decided to discuss it in a separate study unit (study
43