Draft Bill on Property Rights of Spouses still being fine-tuned

A Bill on the Property Rights of spouses would be circulated for public debate next year before it goes to Cabinet for final approval.

Papa Owusu Ankomah, Attorney -General and Minister of Justice, on Thursday said the draft was completed "sometime in the latter part of 2002.

He said, "unfortunately, it has not as yet been circulated to civil society for it to be subjected to public debate because the consultative process has as yet not been completed".

The Minister was speaking in Parliament when Mr Joseph Agbenu, NDC-Afram Plains North, on behalf of Mr Kwakye Addo, NDC-Afram Plains South, asked the Minister when the Ministry would enact legislation to regulate the property rights of spouses as required by Article 22(2) of the 1992 Constitution.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah said; "it is common knowledge that the Constitution came into force in January, 1993. Upon the assumption of office by the Government the Attorney - General's Office commenced putting up a first draft on the Property of Spouses".

He said some of the "pertinent issues, which the new law would take account of are whether all properties, movable and immovable, should be distributed among spouses upon separation or divorce".

The Bill, he said, would streamline the law on property rights of spouses by providing a uniform method of dealing with matters within a wide range of cultural and religious practices in Ghana.

The Minister explained that the Bill would take into account whether the extended family of both spouses could be said to have any share in self-acquired property of the spouses. Other areas, he said, were the appropriate forum for the distribution of properties and whether spouses should distribute property between themselves while still living together.

Papa Owusu Ankomah said the Bill was being informed by proposals from the Law Reform Commission, non-governmental organisations, as well as papers prepared by Professor Akua Kuenyehia, the Vice President of the International Criminal Court.

Dr Mustapha Ahmed, NDC-Ayawaso East, asked if the Bill was informed by inputs from groups such as the Islamic organisation but the Minister said non-religious organisations helped in drafting it, however, the Bill would be subjected to views from all sectors of society once the public debate commenced. Miss Akua Sena Dansua, NDC-North Dayi, wanted to know why the Ministry had taken so long in the consultative process on the bill and the Minister said it was considered a "ground-breaking" Bill and entailed a lot of groundwork.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah said the Bill was going to touch on sensitive areas such as cultural and religious beliefs, and, therefore it was prudent to "hasten slowly".