Marriage And The Law

By Collins L. Kodjoe

Overall, the book aims to equip clergy with proper understanding of Ghanaian matrimonial law so they do not unwittingly violate statutes or officiate invalid unions. It serves as an important guide for conducting legally recognized marriages according to each relationship type across the country's diverse ethnic groups and religions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Collins L. Kodjoe
• Release date: Dec 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223114574

Collins L. Kodjoe

Collins L. Kodjoe Rev. Collins L. Kodjoe is an ordained minister of Assemblies of God, Ghana. He is the pioneering pastor and immediate past pastor in-charge of Fountain of Life Assemblies of God, Manhean in Accra. Collins holds a Master of Arts (Biblical Studies) degree from Global University, U.S.A. He also has to his credit a Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. In addition to the above, he has a Bachelor of Theology degree and Diploma of Theology, both from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He is a full-time lecturer and Registrar of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, South Campus,  Kormantse near Saltpond in the Central  Region of Ghana. He is also the author of The New Birth: The Gateway to Eternal Life. He is happily married to Irene,  and they are blessed with four children: Theresa, Stephen, Collins Jnr., and Agnes.  

Book preview

DEDICATION

To my lovely wife, Irene Anyankwabea Kodjoe.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iam exceedingly grateful to God for His enabling grace that has been my anchor in writing this book. I feel indebted also to Mr. Yeboah Kordieh, former head of Ghana Publishing Company (Assembly Press); Yaw Adubofuor Esq.; Mr. David Nartey of the Registrar General’s Department; Oladele Kwaku Aribike Esq.; and Pastor Emmanuel L. Dubik Mahama Esq. Each of these men has been very instrumental in building my capacity through seminars and personal coaching, culminating in the writing of this book. My sincere appreciation also goes to my boss, Rev. John Kwabena Boachie, President of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS), for his love and encouragement, and the opportunity to use this manual during our annual credential review sessions.

My mother, Rev. Theresa Agyare (Rtd.), has been a strong pillar of support and encouragement to me and, to her, I remain eternally grateful. To my selfless, virtuous and ever-supportive wife of noble character, Irene, I say her worth is incomparable and her character, beyond description. I thank her for her unalloyed love and unflinching support. My sincere thanks to our children Theresa, Stephen, Collins Jnr., and Agnes, who have had to endure spending most of the week without me.

CONTENTS

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.........................i

PREFACE ...............................viii

FOREWORD 

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One: TYPES OF MARRIAGES IN GHANA

Chapter Two: MARRIAGE UNDER CUSTOMARY AND ISLAMIC LAWS

Chapter Three: MARRIAGE UNDER THE MARRIAGE ORDINANCE

Chapter Four: MARRIAGE BY A REGISTRAR OF MARRIAGES

Chapter Five: MARRIAGE BY SPECIAL LICENSE

Chapter Six: MARRIAGE BY A MARRIAGE OFFICER

Chapter Seven: THE MARRIAGE VOWS

Chapter Eight: THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

Chapter Nine: BLESSING VERSUS "

WEDDING"

Chapter Ten: THE WEDDING RING

Chapter Eleven: SOME SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Chapter Twelve: INVALID MARRIAGES

CONCLUSION

REFERENCE LIST

PREFACE

The understanding of some ministers has been that there is a mandatory three-week period between the time of the customary marriage (mistakenly called the engagement) and the celebration of the ordinance (commonly referred to as the wedding). But when I was going to marry, the host church had no qualms with our decision to have our wedding celebrated four days after the customary marriage. So we had our customary marriage rites performed on a Thursday and the Ordinance on the ensuing Monday, which was also a holiday.

Did we do the right thing in light of the law? Was it lawful to celebrate the marriage on a holiday? Even though I was happy to have been allowed to celebrate the wedding on a holiday and four days after the engagement, thoughts about the possibility of the consequential legal implications became quite a bother to me. These questions kept flooding my thoughts intermittently, yet I had no one to furnish me with any legally sound, cogent and definite answers.

You can imagine how extremely relieved I became when I attended my first seminar on marriage vis-à-vis the laws of Ghana. That was when I took keen interest in matters concerning marriage and the law. So, having attended the first seminar in June 2014, I grabbed the second opportunity to attend another at the Registrar General’s Department on 6th April, 2016. That was when I had a panorama of the nitty-gritty of these matters. Subsequent to these, I would enthusiastically grab any opportunity to participate in seminars touching the subject matter.

Juxtaposing my new knowledge on what pertained on the ground, I realized that there were many pastors who were operating in the dark. The dire legal implications of a pastor officiating an ordinance marriage without being a gazette minister and the marriage being celebrated at a place not licensed shook me to the bones. It has been the practice of some to sign the marriage certificate in the house just after the customary marriage. For instance, at a marriage ceremony I attended several years earlier, the pastor came along with a marriage certificate, which the couple signed in the house where the customary marriage was held. My enlightenment through these seminars showed me how grievous an error that was.

The quest to correct the misunderstanding and misconceptions among the clergy and the laity on matters relating to marriage and the law are the motivations that underpin the writing of this book. I therefore sought to put together a