Registration of Vital Events in Ethiopia: Gaps in the Laws on Registration of Marriage and Its Dissolution

Abstract

In any country, a well-established system of registration of vital events plays keyroles to bring political, social, and economic developments. To this end, it is
indispensable that the system shall be based, inter alia, on well designed laws.Though many countries have very established system of civil registration, the fullfledged practice of registration of vital events and laws are of recent vintage inEthiopia. Partly attributed to this, there appear some flaws in the laws on vital
events registration in Ethiopia. The aim of this article is to highlight the gaps in that part of the laws dealing with registration of marriage and its dissolution. In sodoing, it examines the current laws connected with registration of marriage and itsdissolution in light of other laws and established practices. In addition, it alsoattempts to look into Ethiopia’s past experiences in relation to registration of civilstatuses. It then identifies gaps regarding the persons responsible to declaremarriage or divorce for registration, time and place of registration that would have their own impact in the endeavor to build a well-functioning system of registration of vital events across the country. Accordingly, the laws in force shall be considered for further amendment to avoid the defects.