Citation Act No. 55 of 1949 Date commenced 8 July 1949 | Date of Royal Assent 1 July 1949 Date repealed 19 June 1985 | |
Enacted by Parliament of South Africa | ||
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949, was an apartheid law in South Africa that prohibited marriages between "Europeans" and "non-Europeans". It was among the first pieces of apartheid legislation to be passed following the National Party's rise to power in 1948. Subsequent legislation, especially the Population Registration and Immorality Acts of 1950, facilitated its implementation by requiring all individuals living in South Africa to register as a member of one of four officially defined racial groups and prohibiting extramarital sexual relationships between people of different races.
Legislative history
In the three years before its enactment, mixed marriages accounted for just 0.23% of all marriages in the country.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act of 1968 updated the original legislation to invalidate interracial marriages involving a South African citizen that were contracted in other countries.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act was repealed by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985, which was passed during the presidency of P. W. Botha.