Summary Engagements, Universal Partnerships & Domestic Partnerships

DOCUMENT COMPOSED BY RLION FROM STUVIA


ENGAGEMENTS, UNIVERSAL PARTNERSHIPS &
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS
ENGAGEMENTS
 Def:
- A contractual agreement between 2 parties to get married within a reasonable
time.
- Should not do anything to prevent future marriage
- Legally binding contract
REQUIREMENTS FOR VALID ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT
o Parties should not be married to anyone
o Parties should be over the age of puberty (12/14)
o Parties should attain additional permission if under the age of 18
o Both parties should be willing to get married
o Both parties must not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship
TEMINATION OF ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT
 The parties get married
 One of the parties dies
 Both parties agree to end the engagement
 One of the parties end the engagement for no good reason
 One of the parties end the engagement for a good reason
BREACH OF ENGAGEMENT CONTRACT
 One of the parties marries someone else during the engagement period
 One of the ill-treats the other
 One of the parties has sex with someone else
 Refusing to go through with marriage
 Deliberately delaying the marriage
 Breaking off engagement with iusta causa (factors that may render the
prospective marriage unsuccessful)
3 CATEGORIES OF REMEDIES FOR BREACHH OF PROMISE
1. Return of gifts
- Gifts can be classified into 3 groups:
a) Sponsalitiae largitos
* appliances for future marital house
* Innocent party retains what they received, guilty party has to return the same
b) Arrhae sponsalitiae
* Ring/Anything that symbolises an obligation of commitment
* Innocent party retains what they received, guilty party returns
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, DOCUMENT COMPOSED BY RLION FROM STUVIA


c) Small tokens of affection
* Jewellery, flowers, chocolates
* Non-returnable
2. Actio iniuriaum – Delictual action for harm to personality right
 Personality rights - injured feelings and reputation
 Court awards solatium ( an amount of money to console injured feelings and
reputation )
 Claimant must prove that feelings/reputation have been damaged
 Van Jaarsveld v Bridges
- Manner of ending engagement must be ‘objectively’ insulting
- Ending engagement via text message = not necessarily insulting and is
therefore iusta causa
- Falling out of love = not necessarily insulting and is therefore iusta causa
3. Contractual claim for wasted expenses (breach of contract)
Guggenheim v Rosenbaum
 Contractual damages for monetary losses
 Positive interesse – placed in same financial position had the marriage
continued. Claim for prospective losses
 Negative interesse – Claims for actual losses. Compensating claimant for
expenses undertaken for preparing for the marriage
VAN JAARSVELD v BRIDGES 2010 SCA
- Deemed that claims for prospective losses should no longer be available :
 It treats engagement as a commercial dealing
 Claims are not available at divorce and should not be available at the end of
an engagement



UNIVERSAL PARTNERSHIPS
Domestic partnership where a couple lives together as husband and wife for many
years.
 Can co-exist with domestic partnerships, but not always
 Can co-exist with engagements, but not always
 Found in some marriages, but not always
 Can be concluded when people are not in an intimate relationship




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