Parliament urged to pass spousal bill

Stakeholders at a seminar in Accra have called on Parliament to as a matter of urgency pass the Property Rights of Spouses Bill (PRSB) 2013, into law.

The PRSB 2013 is an act to provide for and regulate the property rights of spouses during or upon termination of a marriage in accordance with Article 22 of the 1992 Constitution and also provides for the property rights of cohabiting persons among others.

The seminar, which was organised by the African Women Lawyers’s Association (AWLA) and the Law and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA), Ghana, brought together gender activists, queenmothers, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), medical practitioners and assemblywomen, among others.

The PRSB was drafted seven years ago and laid before Parliament in October 2009, but was not passed into law. It has, however, been modified as PRSB 2013, to reflect some concerns raised in the original bill.

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mrs Marieta Brew Appiah-Oppong, said the passage of the PRSB into law would ensure fairness in dealing with matters that pertain to the rights of spouses to  properties acquired during marriage or courtship.

In a speech read on her behalf by a Chief State Attorney at the AG’s Department, Mrs Mavis Amua, said when passed, the PRSB 2013 “will go a long way to end the challenges that, particularly female spouses face in terms of having equal access to property jointly acquired during marriage.

The chairperson of LAWA-Ghana Mrs Shiela Minkah-Premo presenting an overview of the PRSB said the bill had become necessary to ensure uniformity across marriage types, clarity and guidance for implementation, recognition of cohabitation including incomplete customary marriage, recognition of contribution of non-working spouse and the need to avoid injustice in the distribution of properties.