IA001262014

The Appellant in this appeal was the Respondent at the First-tier Tribunal hearing on 22 October 2013. However, for ease of reference, the Appellant and Respondent are hereafter referred to as they were before the First-tier Tribunal. Therefore Mrs Bossman is referred to as the Appellant and the Secretary of State is referred to as the Respondent.

Reliance was placed by the Respondent within the RL on NA (Customary marriage and divorce � evidence) Ghana [2009] UKAIT 00009 , within which, at paragraph 11, the expert evidence of Mercy Akman was relied on as setting out the criteria which must be met under Ghanaian customary law for a customary marriage to be considered legal, this being:

� 7. ... It is a type of marriage contracted under the particular tradition and customary practices of a group of people....A valid customary marriage can only be validly contracted between two Ghanaian citizens and both parties must have capacity to marry. This means that there should be no violation of any rule of tribal relationship. These rules differ from tribe to tribe...

A particular characteristic of customary marriage which distinguishes it from the system of marriage in Europe and other places is that it is not just a union of �this man� and �this woman�. It is the union of �the family of this woman� and �the family of this man�. Marriage in the customary context therefore unites families and not merely the individuals.

It involves payment of a bride price by the bridegroom�s family to the bride�s family. If the appropriate bride price is not paid, there is no valid marriage, even if parties live as man and woman for many years. The acceptance of drink from the man�s family is an indication of the consent of the wife�s family to the marriage....It is potentially polygamous in nature; a man may decide to marry as many women as his strength and resources can accommodate.