DBM sheds light on the rights of unmarried fathers when registering new borns
Question: Can I register my child under my surname as an unmarried father?
Answer: A recent Constitutional Court ruling in Center for Child Law v. Director General, Department of Home Affairs, and others (2021) has found that unmarried fathers can register their children under their own surnames without the mother’s consent.
The Position prior was that the mother’s consent would be required before a child could be registered under the unmarried father’s surname due to Section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Act 51 of 1992.
Section 10 of the Act specifically states that if a child is born out of wedlock, he or she must be registered under the mother’s surname and may only be registered under the father’s name with the joint consent of both unmarried parents.
The Court has ruled that Section 10 of the Act amounts to unfair discrimination and that it impairs the dignity of the unmarried father and the children born out of wedlock.
This is especially impactful for unmarried fathers who have children born from surrogacy arrangements, as was the case in this case.
The Court looked at how unfair and illogical it was to discriminate between married and unmarried fathers and therefore declared the section to be unconstitutional.
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