Widow’s Inheritance Rights
- Laws
- Tanzania
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Under customary law, a “widow has no share of the inheritance if the deceased left relatives of his clan; her share is to be cared for by her children, just as she cared for them.” Local Customary Law (Declaration) (No. 4) Order, Government Notice (GN) 436/1963, Second Schedule, Laws on Inheritance [Sheriza za Urithi].
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Rule 27 in Judicature and Application of Laws Act, Tanz. Laws Subsidary Legis. [CAP 358 R.E. 2002].
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- Rwanda
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The default marital property regime in Rwanda is community of property. If spouses choose to hold their property as separate property at the time of marriage, then neither spouse has an intestate right to the other spouse’s property. However, if the marriage is under the regime of community of property, intestate succession can be summarized as follows1: Article 70: (1)- in case of death of one of the spouses, the surviving spouse shall ensure the administration of the entire patrimony while assuming the duties of raising the children and assistance to the needy parents of the de cujus; (2)- when both spouses die leaving children behind, the latter shall succeed to the entire patrimony, but must also assist their grand-fathers and grand- mothers . When the children are not blood- related, the patrimony shall be divided in two, and each child shall succeed to the part of his or her respective parent (3)- when the spouses die without leaving a child behind, the patrimony shall be divided in two, one half being allocated to the successors of the husband, the other being allocated to the successors of the wife; (7)- the surviving spouse who no longer has any children under his/her care and wants to remarry shall obtain full ownership of the 1/2 of the patrimony and another half shall be given to the deceased’s heirs; (8)- in case of remarriage of the surviving spouse who is still bound by the duty of raising the children of the de cujus; she or he shall obtain full ownership of 1/4 of the succession and shall continue to administer the remaining 3/4 for the benefit of the children. Matrimonial Regimes, Inheritance, and Liberalities Law of Rwanda, Loi No 22/99 du 12/11/1999.
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- Azerbaijan
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During intestate succession, following are considered as equal heirs: First of all children of decedent, child born after testator (testatrix)’s decease, wife [husband], parents [adoptive parents]. Art 1159, Law n. 779-IG, The Civil Code of the Azerbaijan Republic, 1999.2
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- Cambodia
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The spouse of the decedent shall become a successor in every case. If a person other than the spouse of the decedent is to become a successor under the provisions of Section I in addition to the spouse, the spouse shall rank equally with such other person.
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Shares in succession in case of succession by spouse: (a) If the successors are the spouse and lineal descendants, the spouse and each of the descendants shall succeed in equal shares. (b) If the successors are the spouse and the decedent’s parents, the spouse shall succeed to a one-third share and the parents to a two-thirds share; provided that, if only one of the parents of the decedent is still alive, such parent and the spouse shall succeed in equal shares. (c) If the successors are the spouse and lineal ascendants other than the decedent’s parents or siblings or their successors by representation, the spouse shall succeed to a one-half share and the lineal ascendants other than the decedent’s parents or siblings or their successors by representation shall succeed to a one-half share. Art 1161, 1162, The Civil Code of Cambodia, 2011.3
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- Mexico
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Art 1624, 1625, 1627, 1628,1629, 1635, Código Civil Federal, 1928
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- Uruguay
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(Art 881(1)-(4),1025-1026 Código Civil, 2010); and Nicaragua (Art. 89, Código de Familia, Ley No. 870/2014) for examples in Spanish.4
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- Tanzania
- Commentary
In Tanzania, currently four legal systems govern inheritance: (1) the Indian Succession Act, 1865 (with application to Tanzanians of European origin, and to Christians, not of African descent); (2) the Hindu Wills Act, 1870 (with application to a relatively small number of Hindus in the country—20,000 in 2002); (3) customary law, which regulates succession for “a person who is or was a member of a community in which rules of customary law relevant to the matter are established and accepted,” interpreted to include all Tanzanians of African descent unless they can meet one of two statutory tests; and (4) Islamic Law. Approximately forty-five percent of Tanzania’s population (including that of Zanzibar) is Muslim, and forty-five percent is Christian, yet for intestate disposition of property, customary law is the default regime for those of African descent under the current law (Tanzanian Practice Guide, LandWise).
However, Dancer (2017) notes: Even without a change in the inheritance law, the changes in custom following the changes to the Land Acts, which gave women rights to land, had a positive impact on women’s ability to inherit land.5
In Rwanda, the law only recognizes formal, civil marriages and allows registered married couples to pick their property regime. They may elect to hold their property 1) under a community property regime where it is held jointly, 2) under a limited regime where property acquired during marriage is either community or separate, or 3) under a separate property regime. The law protects a widow’s use rights to the marital house regardless of which regime was selected. When couples choose community property or do not choose any property regime and default to community property, women have an automatic legal right to all property brought into the marriage and acquired after the marriage. This is an expansive definition of community property because it includes property brought into the marriage belonging to either spouse prior to marriage. Thus, if a person is married in community of property, the inheritance laws are very favorable. However if the marriage is not a legal marriage or if the couple chooses a separate property regime, neither spouse has an intestate right to the other’s property.
A more recent law, LAW Nº32/2016 OF 28/08/2016 GOVERNING PERSONS AND FAMILY, does not cover spousal succession.
Spouses are treated equally under both Azerbaijan’s law and Cambodia’s law.
Whether or not wives and daughters have equal rights to inherit land will be measured under SDG 5.a.2. The FAO is the custodian agency of SDG Indicator 5.a.2, which is a legal indicator assessing the “Percentage of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control.”6 Progress under Indicator 5.a.2 is measured through six proxies.
Note – the legal information for Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Mexico, and Uruguay are from the following resource: FAO (forthcoming) Legal Assessment Tool for Gender-Equitable Land Tenure: Methodological Guide, FAO, Rome.
Not all sub-sections of Article 7 are listed here.
FAO (forthcoming) Legal Assessment Tool for Gender-Equitable Land Tenure: Methodological Guide, FAO, Rome.
FAO (forthcoming) Legal Assessment Tool for Gender-Equitable Land Tenure: Methodological Guide, FAO, Rome.
FAO (forthcoming) Legal Assessment Tool for Gender-Equitable Land Tenure: Methodological Guide, FAO, Rome.
Dancer, Helen (2017) An equal right to inherit? Women's land rights, customary law and constitutional reform in Tanzania. Social and Legal Studies, 26 (3). pp. 291-310. ISSN 1461-7390
FAO developed a methodology titled Realizing Women’s Rights to Land in the Law: A guide for reporting on SDG Indicator 5.a.2