Daniels v Campbell NO and Others

The applicant married the deceased in 1977 according to Muslim rites in a de facto monogamous marriage that was not solemnised under the Marriage Act. The deceased died intestate in 1994. The main asset in the estate was a modest house in which the applicant had lived for nearly thirty years and to whose acquisition she had substantially contributed. The Master of the High Court refused to recognise the applicant as a ‘surviving spouse’ for purposes of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990, on the basis that Muslim marriages were not recognised as valid marriages under South African law. As a result, she was denied inheritance and maintenance. The applicant approached the High Court, which declared the omission of spouses married under Muslim rites from the Acts unconstitutional and read words into the legislation. The matter came before the Constitutional Court for confirmation of invalidity and, alternatively, on appeal regarding the interpretation of the word ‘spouse’.

The appeal succeeded. The Constitutional Court held that the applicant qualifies as a ‘spouse’ and ‘survivor’ under the Intestate Succession Act and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act. The application for confirmation of the High Court’s declaration of constitutional invalidity was rendered unnecessary and was not confirmed. The applicant was entitled to inherit and to claim maintenance from the deceased estate.

This landmark decision marked a major shift in South African law by recognising spouses in monogamous Muslim marriages for purposes of intestate succession and maintenance, without waiting for legislative reform. It advanced substantive equality, dignity, and religious and cultural diversity, and corrected decades of discriminatory legal interpretation. The case is a cornerstone in the constitutional recognition of Muslim personal law within the broader legal system.