The book focuses on the ownership and distribution of marital property upon the dissolution of marriages in Africa. In each of the 16 African countries, the laws on the subject are drawn from different systems of law, whether customary, state law or religious law, and are enmeshed in a complex scheme of legal pluralism. The laws developed by the various internal systems of law have often been unfair, as women seem to have been discriminated against and have little by way of property rights, both in and out of marriages. Scholars researching African family law have conducted individual studies of marital property rights at the state level. Consequently, there is no comparative text that explains how laws in Africa regulate property rights in the context of marriage and divorce. This book seeks to fill this gap by highlighting shared themes such as spousal property classification, legal pluralism, marriage contracts, irregular unions, and human rights, and offering a comparative perspective on fairness and justice in marital property distribution.

The book defines marital property as understood in different legal contexts and evaluates the legal framework governing the rights that spouses have in marital property during the subsistence of the marriage and on divorce. The book also assesses the impact of international and domestic human rights law on each country’s legal framework for the ownership and distribution of marital property upon divorce, and offers recommendations for improving these frameworks.

Ama F. Hammond is an Associate Professor at the University of Ghana School of Law, where she teaches the Law of Contracts and the Laws of Equity and Succession, and coordinates the School’s graduate programmes. She also serves as Deputy Editor of the University of Ghana Law Journal and has co-edited several books in her areas of expertise. Her research interests include legal pluralism and family law. She has published widely on law and society, exploring the reciprocal relationship between law, social change, and policy. She has served as a consultant on projects related to contract law, traditional governance, disability rights, and children’s rights.

Prosper Batariwah is currently an S.J.D candidate at Harvard Law School. He was previously an Associate Transactional Lawyer at AB Lexmall & Associates, a full-service law firm in Accra, Ghana. His research interests include legal pluralism, family law, and natural resource governance. He has worked as a research consultant in areas including contract law and children’s rights. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (First Class Honours) from the University of Ghana School of Law and a Qualifying Certificate for the Practice of Law from the Ghana School of Law.