The Maintenance Act (the “Act”) imposes equal rights and burdens in relation to the payment of child support (and enforcement of child support orders) on both parents and abolishes customary laws to the contrary. The Act also states that husbands and wives are equally responsible for each other’s maintenance.
The applicant was dismissed by her employer, the respondent, because of operational requirements. The applicant was employed by the respondent from 1 November 2007 until her dismissal on 24 October 2012. The applicant claimed that she was dismissed unfairly because she was pregnant. Prior to her dismissal, the applicant delivered a letter from the Qacha’s Nek Hospital stating that she was pregnant and would be required to attend monthly clinics until she delivered her baby.
The appellant appealed his conviction for rape, arguing that the Penal Code sections dealing with rape are discriminatory because they provide increased penalties for a person convicted of rape if they are found to be HIV-positive. The Court held that the relevant provisions of the Penal Code apply when the convicted person was HIV-positive at the time he committed the rape and that it is therefore a reasonable provision in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Between 1986 and 1992 violence escalated between the northern Mauritanian population and the southern black ethnic groups. The Northern Mauritanian population's military raided the south, detained hundreds of individuals, imposed curfews, and inflicted various forms of violence and intimidation. The complaint notes that men from the southern black ethnic groups were subjected to forms of torture and humiliation (such as the "jaguar" where a "victim's wrists are tied to his feet . . .
Appellant was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Appellant appealed that the sentence was too harsh and severe and that it induced a sense of shock. Appellant presented mitigating factors that he was married with four minor children to support, the sole breadwinner, a first offender, and deserved to be given a second chance in life. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal after considering the interest of society, the seriousness of the offense, the fact that the crime was premeditated, and the fact that the killing was gruesome and brutal.
A month after the rape, the appellant’s pregnancy was formally confirmed, she then informed the investigating police officer of her pregnancy who referred her to a public prosecutor. She was told by the prosecutor that she had to wait until the rape trial had been completed to have her pregnancy terminated. At the direction of the police, she returned to the prosecutor’s office four months later and was advised that she required a pregnancy termination order. The prosecutor requested that a magistrate certify the termination.
The Marriage Act was amended in 2001 to make it illegal for any person under the age of 18 to marry. In accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the amendment stipulates that no minor below the age of 21 years may marry without the consent of parents or a legal guardian. The amendment provided for the registration of Customary, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious marriages.
Under Section 48, married women can keep their maiden names, use their husband’s surnames, or both, including after the dissolution of the marriage. To qualify for divorce under Section 61, the court must find the marriage can no longer function, and has “irretrievably broken down.” The court can consider factors under Section 64, such as a rape conviction, homosexual acts or other “unnatural” offenses, or cruelty. Under Section 61, no rights to consummation continue after the termination of the marriage.
All civil, customary and religious marriages under Section 12 of the Act, as long as either between a man and a woman, or cohabitation of a man and a woman as if they were married for a significant period of time, all qualify for the legal status of marriage. However, under Section 14, to qualify as having the capacity to be married under the law, the man and the woman must be older than 18 years of age, be of sound mind and not be within prohibited degrees of family relations.
Under Section 48 spouses may also deny the other spouse of their right to consummate on reasonable grounds during the course of the marriage, which include (i) poor health, (ii) recuperation from child birth, (iii) recovery from surgery, (iv) a reasonable fear that sexual intercourse is likely to cause physical or psychological injury to one or both spouses, and (v) respect for custom. Under Section 62, a husband commits rape if he has sexual intercourse with his wife without her consent during judicial separation.
