Do sections 18(a) and (b) violate sections 9 and 10 of the Constitution?
[20] Family law touches most people at least once in their lives. When people reach adulthood, get married, have children, and dissolve a marriage they should be aware of how their legal status changes. That is why it is important that spouses be familiar with their rights and obligations within the marriage. The contention that people adopt a marriage regime of their choice presupposes that the average lay person will realise the full legal and proprietary consequences of a chosen marital regime. [21] In my view, the problem does not lie in the choice of marriage, but whether the prohibition of claims for patrimonial damages between spouses married in community of property amounts to unfair discrimination in a society that upholds the values of equality and dignity. Surely, if the Constitution is to have some relevance at grassroot level, the starting point should not be “as you make your bed, so must you lie on it”. The crisp question is whether the legal convictions of the community
