Page:Divorce Act 1979.djvu/2

2 No. 6506

DIVORCE ACT, 1979. GENERAL EXPLANATORY NOTE

To amend the law relating to divorce and to provide for incidental matters.

(Afrikaans text signed by the Acting State President.) (Assented to 8 June 1979.)

E IT ENACTED by the State President, the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―

1. (1) In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context—

“court” means the provincial or local division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, or a divorce court established under section 10 of the Black Administration Act, 1927, Amendment Act, 1929 (Act No. 9 of 1929), which has jurisdiction with respect to a divorce action; (ii) “divorce action” means an action by which a decree of divorce or other relief in connection therewith is applied for, and includes—

an application pendente lite for an interdict or for the interim custody of, or access to, a minor child of the marriage concerned or for the payment of maintenance; or an application for a contribution towards the costs of such action or to institute such action, or make such application, in forma pauperis, or for the substituted service of process in, or the edictal citation of a party to, such action or such application. (i)

(2) For the purposes of this Act a divorce action shall be deemed to be instituted on the date on which the summons is issued or the notice of motion is filed or the notice is delivered in terms of the rules of court, as the case may be.

2. (1) A court shall have jurisdiction in a divorce action if—

the parties to the action are domiciled in the area of jurisdiction of the court on the date on which the action is instituted; or the wife is the plaintiff or applicant and she is ordinarily resident in the area of jurisdiction of that court on the date on which the action is instituted and has been ordinarily resident in the Republic for a period of one year immediately prior to the said date and—

is domiciled in the Republic; or was domiciled in the Republic immediately before cohabitation between her and her husband ceased; or was a South African citizen or was domiciled in the Republic immediately prior to her marriage.