The Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985 (Act No. 72 of 1985) is an
act of the
Parliament of South Africa
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...
that repealed the laws prohibiting marriage and sexual intercourse between white people and people of other races. It was one of the early legislative steps towards the end of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
.
Background
The act repealed section 16 of the ''
Immorality Act, 1957
The Sexual Offences Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957, originally the Immorality Act, 1957) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which, in its current form, prohibits prostitution, brothel-keeping and procuring, and other activities related ...
'', which prohibited extramarital sex between a white person and a non-white person.
It also made other consequential amendments related to the repeal of section 16, and removed the higher penalties for brothel-keeping and
procuring when the sex in question was interracial. It also amended certain sections of the ''
Criminal Procedure Act, 1977
The Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that governs criminal procedure in South Africa's legal system. It details the procedure for the whole system of criminal law, including search and ...
'', that referred to violations of section 16.
It also repealed the ''
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949'', which prohibited a white person and a non-white person from contracting a marriage and invalidated any such marriage contracted outside South Africa by a South African citizen or resident.
[ The repeal did not automatically validate such marriages previously invalidated, but allowed the spouses to apply to the Director-General of ]Home Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
to have the marriage validated.
See also
* Immorality Act
Immorality Act was the title of two acts of the Parliament of South Africa which prohibited, amongst other things, sexual relations between white people and people of other races. The first Immorality Act, of 1927, prohibited sex between whites a ...
References
External links
{{Wikisource, Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985
South African legislation
1985 in South African law
Marriage law
Marriage, unions and partnerships in South Africa
Interracial marriage