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Marriage Conciliation Boards (Procedure) Regulations, 1971

Government Notice 240 of 1971

Marriage Conciliation Boards (Procedure) Regulations, 1971
Citation
Government Notice 240 of 1971
Primary work
Law of Marriage Act
Date
31 July 2002
Language
English
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Tanzania
Law of Marriage Act

Marriage Conciliation Boards (Procedure) Regulations, 1971

Government Notice 240 of 1971

  • Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
  • Commenced
  • [This is the version of this document at 31 July 2002.]
  • [Note: This legislation was revised and consolidated as at 31 July 2002 and 30 November 2019 by the Attorney General's Office, in compliance with the Laws Revision Act No. 7 of 1994, the Revised Laws and Annual Revision Act (Chapter 356 (R.L.)), and the Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act No. 30 of 1972. All subsequent amendments have been researched and applied by Laws.Africa for TANZLII.]
[Section 162(2); G.N. No. 240 of 1971]

1. Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Marriage Conciliation Boards (Procedure) Regulations and shall be read as one with sections 102, 103 and 104 of the Act.

2. Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—"Act" means the Law of Marriage Act1;1Cap. 29"Board" means a Marriage Conciliation Board established or designated under section 102 of the Act and includes a Communal Board;"Chairman" means the Chairman of a Board and includes, in relation to any meetings of the Board, the Vice-Chairman or temporary Chairman presiding over that meeting;"Communal Board" means a Marriage Conciliation Board designated under the provisions of subsection (2) of section 102 of the Act as a Board of the community for which it is so designated;"matrimonial dispute" includes an objection to an intended marriage referred to a Board under section 21(1)(b) of the Act;"member" means a member of a Board and includes the Chairman;"prescribed form" means a form prescribed by the Schedule to these Regulations.

3. Communal Boards

(1)Every Communal Board shall consist of a Boards Chairman and not less than four other members appointed by the appropriate organ of the community for which the Communal Board has been established.
(2)Every appointment, either as a Chairman or a member of a Communal Board, shall be signed by the proper officer of the organ of the community concerned and shall be conclusive evidence that the person named therein is a member of the Board.
(3)Where the appointment of a Chairman or any member of a Communal Board is revoked, revocation shall be by a letter addressed to the person concerned and signed by the proper officer of the organ of the community.
(4)The Chairman of every Communal Board shall, within three months of being appointed as Chairman, inform the Registrar in writing of the postal address of the Board.
(5)A Chairman of a Communal Board who fails to comply with the provisions of paragraph (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand shillings.

4. Quorum

The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of a Board shall be three members.

5. Vice-Chairman

A Board may, from amongst its members, appoint a Vice-Chairman.

6. Chairman

(1)The Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Board.
(2)Where at any meeting of a Board, the Chairman is absent, the Vice-Chairman shall preside over the meeting of the Board.
(3)Where both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman are absent, the members present may elect a temporary Chairman from amongst themselves and such temporary Chairman shall preside at such meeting.

7. Reference of dispute to a Board

(1)A matrimonial dispute, other than an objection under section 21(1)(b) of the Act, may be referred to a Board either verbally or in writing by either party to a marriage or any other person having a right to refer a matrimonial dispute to a Board.
(2)Oral reference to a Board may be made either to the Chairman or Vice-Chairman or to any member of the Board.
(3)Where a dispute is referred to a Board, the member to whom the dispute is referred shall forthwith advise the Chairman of the dispute and the Chairman, or in his absence, the Vice-Chairman, or where both the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman are absent, any member of the Board shall forthwith fix a date, time and place for a meeting of the Board to consider the dispute.
(4)Where a meeting has been fixed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3), a notice in writing shall be addressed to the parties to the dispute advising each of such parties of the date, time and place of the meeting and requiring such party to attend the meeting:Provided that where in the opinion of the Board it is expedient to give oral notice of the date, time and place of the meeting of the Board, such oral notice, if given by the Chairman or any member of the Board, shall have the same effect as a notice in writing.
(5)Where it is found that at any meeting of a Board, a quorum is not present, the members present at that meeting shall adjourn the meeting to a further date and shall notify the parties to the dispute and the other members of the Board, of the date, time and place of such meeting.
(6)Where at a meeting held pursuant to an adjournment under paragraph (5) only two members are present, then, notwithstanding the provisions of these Regulations regarding the quorum, such two members shall proceed to consider the dispute and the decision made by the Board constituted shall be as lawful and binding as a decision made by a meeting of the Board at which a full quorum is present.
(7)Where, after the commencement of the hearing of any dispute, the Board adjourns its meeting to any future date and at the subsequent meeting held pursuant to such adjournment, a sufficient number of members are not present so as to constitute a quorum, the Board shall be deemed to be validly constituted even if only one member is present, and may proceed to determine the dispute notwithstanding any provision of these Regulations to the contrary:Provided that—
(a)the provisions of this paragraph shall apply only in respect of the proceedings relating to the dispute not concluded at the previous meeting;
(b)the member present, or where there are two or more members present, any one of them must be a member who was present at the previous meeting and all the meetings held to consider the dispute in question.

8. Decision of the Board

(1)Where at any meeting three or five members are present, the decision of the majority shall be the decision of the Board.
(2)Where, at any meeting of the Board, two or four members are present, the person presiding over the meeting of the Board shall have a casting vote in addition to his deliberative vote.
(3)Where the proceedings of any Board relating to any matrimonial dispute has been adjourned and at the adjourned meeting only one member is present, the decision of such one member shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (5) of regulation 7, be deemed to be the decision of the Board.

9. Certificate of Board

(1)Where the dispute arises out of a notice of objection referred to the Board under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 21 of the Act, the Board shall issue a certificate of its decision and such certificate shall be in the prescribed form.
(2)Where the dispute is between a husband and his wife, and relates to the breakdown of the marriage or an anticipated breakdown of the marriage, and the Board fails to reconcile the parties, the Board shall issue a certificate in the prescribed form.

10. Forms of Notices

Notices issued by the Board shall, in so far as it may be practicable and subject to such variations as may be necessary, be in the form prescribed in the Schedule.

11. Offences

Any person who participates at any meeting of a Board without being a duly appointed member thereof or after his appointment as a member has been terminated, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding three thousand shillings.

12. Transfer of proceedings

Where a Board to which a matrimonial dispute has been referred is of the opinion that it is desirable, in the interests of justice, that another Board having jurisdiction in the matter should determine the dispute, it may transfer the dispute to such other Board:Provided that no dispute shall be transferred to any Communal Board unless all the parties to the dispute are members of the community for which the Board has been designated.

Schedule

Forms 1 - 3

[Editorial note: The forms have not been reproduced.]

History of this document

31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
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