SEMESTER 01-2023
NAME: XXXXXXXXXXX
STUDENT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXXX
SUBJECT: PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
MODULE CODE: LJU4804
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 01
,PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW ASSIGNMENT 01-
SEMESTER 01-2023
DUE DATE: 31 MARCH 2023
DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY
STUDENT’S STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGING AN UNDERSTANDING OF
PLAGIARISM AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF
This is to state that I have read all the documentation about plagiarism that I have
received.
I also fully understand what plagiarism is.
I also accept that if I commit plagiarism, I will be severely penalized.
NAME AND SURNAME: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
STUDENT NO.: XXXXXXXXXXX
MODULE CODE: LJU4804
SIGNATURE: XXXXXXXXXXXX
DATE: …. FEBRUARY 2023
, PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW ASSIGNMENT 01-
SEMESTER 01-2023
QUESTION 1
ASSESSMENT SCENARIO
Mr and Mrs Hendricks got married in Madagascar in December 1999. At the time
of entering into the marriage they were both Namibian citizens, domiciled in
England. Mrs Hendricks moved to London, England in 1997 to pursue a modelling
career. Mr Hendricks took up a permanent position as an engineer in London in
1998 and established a domicile there. In 2001, the parties relocated to Pretoria
(South Africa) and became domiciled there. The reason for the relocation was that
Mrs Hendricks was offered a long-term modelling contract by a large South
African clothing company. In 2017, Mr Hendricks instituted divorce proceedings
against Mrs Hendricks in the North Gauteng High Court.
1.1. From the facts above, it is clear that the scenario contains a foreign element as the
parties were married in Madagascar. A South African court will need to apply South
African private international law to determine which legal system is applicable to this
scenario. According to South African private international law, material validity of the
marriage is governed by the lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place where the
marriage ceremony took place). Thus, it could be concluded that Madagascur legal
system is applicable to the material validity of the marriage since their marriage was
celebrated there.1
1
Nikita Michaela De Pontes, ‘Renvoi in the Private international law of obligation in Australia, Brazil and
South Africa’ (LLM thesis, University of Johannesburg 2012) 6-7.