Matrimonial Causes Act, 2007

A divorce petition cannot be filed until one year after the marriage, and the court must examine the facts before deciding whether to grant dissolution.

In divorce proceedings based on unreasonable behaviour, the court must ignore a period of up to six months of continued cohabitation after the final incident when deciding whether the petitioner can reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.

A married person may be deemed to have wilfully deserted the other spouse if their conduct causes the other spouse to live separately or apart, even without intent. The court may also treat a desertion period as continuing in certain mental-illness incapacity cases, and refusal to resume cohabitation after a separation agreement can count as wilful desertion unless reasonably justified.

Rules of court must ensure a respondent is told enough to understand the consequences of consenting to a decree and what steps to take to show consent.

For section 9(1)(d) and (e), spouses may be treated as separated even if only one spouse ended the cohabitation.

A divorce respondent may oppose the decree if five years’ separation is alleged and hardship would make dissolution wrong; the court must consider the circumstances and dismiss the petition if those conditions are met.

In dissolution-of-marriage proceedings, short reconciliation cohabitation periods (up to six months) are not counted against separation continuity, and the court may disregard non-substantial interruptions. The court may also refuse a dissolution decree if the petitioner was guilty of collusion.

The Court may refuse to grant a decree dissolving a marriage if certain conduct by the petitioner happened after the marriage.

If a nullity petition is before the Court, the Court cannot grant dissolution of the marriage unless that nullity petition has been dismissed.

In divorce proceedings, the court may grant the respondent the relief they would have received had they filed the petition, if they allege and prove the listed facts from section 9.

In divorce proceedings, the court must require the petitioner’s advocate to certify whether reconciliation was discussed and the parties’ contact details for help were given. If reconciliation seems reasonably possible, the court may adjourn or interview the parties, and must resume the hearing after at least 14 days if either party asks.

A marriage celebrated after the Act starts is void if one of the listed grounds applies.

This section says the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity are the ones listed in the Schedule.

A marriage celebrated after the Act starts, and that is not void, is voidable if certain grounds exist.

The Court must not grant certain decrees of nullity in specified voidable-marriage cases, and a petitioner for judicial separation is relieved from the duty to cohabit while the decree remains in force.

During a judicial separation, an intestate spouse’s property devolves as if that spouse had survived the other spouse; unpaid maintenance can make the husband liable for necessaries for the wife; and the wife may still join in exercising joint powers.

A judicial separation decree does not stop either spouse from seeking dissolution of the marriage, and the court may use the separation decree as proof of the same facts in a dissolution case, but it must still consider the petitioner’s evidence.

This Act applies to decrees of judicial separation made before commencement as if they had been made after commencement.

A decree nisi for dissolution of marriage or nullity of a voidable marriage does not become absolute unless the Court is satisfied about the children’s welfare arrangements or special circumstances apply.

A decree nisi becomes absolute after six weeks, or later if there is an appeal. Either spouse may apply. The Registrar of the High Court must file a memorandum and issue a certificate after the decree becomes absolute, unless a party has died.

The Court can rescind a divorce/dissolution decree, require more inquiry, or otherwise deal with the case in specified post-decree situations.

The Court may rescind certain decrees and make related orders in matrimonial proceedings, including maintenance pending suit and directions on referred agreements; after a decree of dissolution becomes absolute, a party may marry again.

The Court may make maintenance and child-related payment orders when granting or after granting divorce, nullity, or judicial separation orders.

The Court may make a maintenance order for a spouse or child in a marriage-related case, and must consider listed financial and family factors.

After a divorce, nullity, or judicial-separation petition is filed, certain related proceedings may start, and rules of court may require how applications are filed and when leave of court is needed.

The Court’s orders for child maintenance/property support are limited by the child’s age, with special exceptions for 21-to-under-25s in education or training, and the Court can later vary, suspend, discharge, or revive certain orders.

A person cannot enforce certain maintenance-related arrears through the Court without leave if the arrears are more than 12 months old; the Court may refuse leave, grant it with conditions, or remit the arrears.

The Court may order repayment of an excess amount and may alter maintenance agreements in certain cases; some clauses restricting court applications are void, and certain applications must be made within six months unless the Court permits later filing.

If someone tries to move or deal with property to defeat a claim for financial relief, the court may restrain it or set the disposition aside.

If the Court orders payments or property transfer and the beneficiary cannot manage property because of mental disorder, the Court may direct payment or transfer to the person’s carers.

The court cannot finalize a divorce, nullity, or judicial separation order unless it is satisfied about the children-related conditions in this section.

The Court may make custody and education orders for a child of the family, and may vary, suspend, discharge, or revive those orders.

The Court may place a child under supervision by a welfare officer when custody proceedings involve exceptional circumstances, and may also vary related orders for the child’s financial provision, custody, or education.

The court may hear certain proceedings by a wife even if the husband is not domiciled in Zambia, subject to specified conditions.

In child-related proceedings, the Court must treat the children’s interests as paramount and may make orders about custody, reports, and access.

The Court generally must not make an order for the petitioner after the petition for principal relief is dismissed, but it may do so in limited cases.

The Attorney-General may intervene in certain family proceedings if there may be relevant matters the court does not know about, and may delegate powers and functions under this Part in writing.

The Court may let a person intervene in certain marriage proceedings if the person may be able to prove relevant facts, and it may set conditions, including security for costs.

Proceedings are not treated as finally disposed of until the decree absolute has been made absolute.

A person who intervenes under this Part and section 45 is treated as a party to the proceedings, with the rights, duties, and liabilities of a party.

Evidence by a husband or wife is not admissible to prove whether they had marital intercourse, and sexual-capacity evidence in nullity proceedings is generally heard in camera unless the judge allows open court in the interests of justice.

In proceedings under this Act, the Court may accept certain birth, death, or marriage records as evidence.

In proceedings under this Act, a conviction can be used as evidence of the acts that made up the crime, and a certified conviction certificate can be used as evidence of the conviction and related particulars.

Money ordered paid by a decree under this Act may be recovered as a judgment debt, and the Court may allow enforcement against a party’s estate after death.

A maintenance payment order is treated as a maintenance order for the Maintenance Orders Act, and the rules may provide other ways to enforce decrees under the Act.

A decree made in a matrimonial cause before this Act started may be enforced either as it could have been enforced before this Act, or under the rules for enforcing a similar decree made under this Act.

A respondent may ask for related relief in the answer, and the Court should hear all matters from one petition together where practicable.

The Court must make the appropriate decree if it is satisfied that there is a ground for the relief sought, except as provided by the Act.

Court proceedings are generally to be heard in open court, but the court may exclude non-parties in special circumstances and may restrict publication of certain information; breaching the publication ban is an offence.

The court may grant injunctions or other orders in matrimonial matters, and may penalize non-compliance.

The Court may make orders about costs and security for costs, and may dismiss frivolous or vexatious proceedings or parties.

The Chief Justice may make rules by statutory instrument about High Court practice and procedure under this Act.

A woman’s marriage is prohibited where the man is, or has been, in the relationship described in the text.