Article Details
  • Published Online:
    July  2026
  • Product Name:
    The IUP Journal of Law Review
  • Product Type:
    Article
  • Product Code:
    IUPLR020726
  • DOI:
    10.71329/IUPLR/2026.16.3.22-32
  • Author Name:
    Monica Yamoah, Richmond Ashiagbor, Hassan Abdulhakim Bahebe and Emmanuel Mensah Aboagye
  • Availability:
    YES
  • Subject/Domain:
    Law
  • Download Format:
    PDF
  • Pages:
    22-32
Vol. 16, Issue 3, July-September 2026
Domicile Laws Governing Cross-Border Marriages and Divorces in Ghana: Need for an Integrated Legal Framework
Abstract

Factors such as lack of commitment, educational opportunities, and work opportunities, have caused a rise in cross-border marriages and divorces in Ghana. Examining the practical and legal challenges to Ghana’s domicile laws governing cross-border marriages and divorces, the study critically examines marriage laws. To strengthen the study, doctrinal legal research is combined with secondary legal sources, including statutes and court rulings. The Ghanaian laws for marriage and divorce are ambiguous, creating problems for their interpretation and application. The study offers suggestions to remove the ambiguity and harmonize the legal system. To build a more integrated legal system, the study recommends that Ghanaian legal frameworks should draw from international marriage and divorce rules.

Introduction

Marriage and family life have changed dramatically over the past few centuries. There has been a decrease in marriage rates, a rise in the average age at marriage, and a rise in divorce rates throughout the world. Some have claimed that these shifts indicate a decline in national differences in marriage and family practices because non-Western, less wealthy countries are absorbing Western family norms