Live: Birth And Deaths Registration Act Challenge

The Constitutional Court will hear a challenge against the constitutionality of Section 261a-c of the Births and Deaths Registration Act and regulation 182a, which the applicants argue unfairly discriminate based on gender.

The case involves two married couples who successfully challenged the legislation in the Free State High Court. The male spouses were unable to change their surnames after marriage-one sought to take his wifes surname, while the other wanted to hyphenate his surname to include his wife's. The current system does not allow men to assume their spouse's surname when married to a woman.

The Constitutional Court will now determine whether the provisions in question violate the right to equality and non-discrimination.

LIVE STREAM: