Spouses who intend to get married may choose or design another matrimonial regime in case it is not contrary to the rules of public order and good morals, according to a proposal in the draft law governing persons and family.

The proposed change, once adopted, will grant future-to-be partners the right to choose what part of their assets to pool or to separate, which they must agree upon early (before marriage takes place), said the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Valentine Uwamariya.

She made the observation on April 4, during a session in which the Lower House’s Committee on Political Affairs and Gender was scrutinising the bill.

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Uwamariya indicated that in the fourth [proposed new matrimonial regime], prospective partners might agree to jointly own or to separate some assets – either acquired before or during their marriage.

Article 167 (proposed) of the bill provides for an authentic deed of other matrimonial regimes.

It stipulates that the authentic deed of another matrimonial regime is signed by both intending spouses before a notary, and it is submitted to a civil registrar to assess if it is not contrary to the rules of public order and good morals, at least seven days before the marriage date.

Currently, Uwamariya said, there are three matrimonial regimes. They are community of property, which is a contract by which the spouses opt for joint ownership of all their property; limited community of property whereby partners share everything they build up from their wedding day; and separation of property which means complete separation of spouses’ respective assets, without any equalisation of accrued gains when their marriage ends.

According to an explanation of the bill, these three types of matrimonial regimes do not give the prospective spouses a choice to design their own regime as it is the case in all contracts.

"It is possible that among the property we are going to jointly own, we can jointly own part of it in marriage, maybe there is an asset which one of the partners share with his/her family members, for instance. Then, they agree that such property is not counted in the assets they are going to pool,” she said.

Apart from agreeing on what they pool, and what they separate upon marriage under the new regime, she pointed out, the intending partners agree what will be done in case of divorce [how they will share jointly owned property], or how the other assets must be managed when one of them dies.

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MP Aiméee Sandrine Uwambaje said that the new proposed matrimonial regime seems vague, suggesting that it should be named and defined in the law to help people make informed decisions about it, and harmonise it.

"We should help people understand all those ways [matrimonial regimes], instead of telling them to go and choose by themselves. Though it is their choice, we should facilitate them in the law,” she said.

MP Suzanne Mukayijore said that the fourth matrimonial regime should be written clearly in the bill to facilitate people understand it as it is the case for the already existing three ones, to avoid a situation where everyone sets their own regime.

Marie Louise Mukashema, a lawyer at Legal Aid Forum, said that the proposed regime will give another option for intending partners who find the existing ones inappropriate to them, and then decide to go to a notary and choose the regime they agree between them.

"We appreciate this [proposal] because people were given the right or freedom to pool assets, but one can choose to have absolute right to make decisions, for instance on 40 per cent of the assets. I think this is something very important because most of [spousal] conflicts were related to property,” she said.