Births And Deaths Registration Act (Chapter 5:02)

 

Chapter 5:02

 

Births And Deaths Registration Act

Acts 11/1986, 7/1994, 6/2000, 22/2001, 6/2005.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I

PRELIMINARY Section

1. Short title.

PART II

REGISTRARSAND REGISTERS

3. Registrar-General and registrars.
4. Registrars to keep and maintain registers and forward notices to Registrar-General.
5. Registrar-General to keep and maintain registers.
6. Certified copies of entries.
7. Evidence of certified copy of entry in register.
8. Correction of error in register.
9. Members of Public Service may examine registers. PART III

REGISTRATIONOFBIRTHS, STILL-BIRTHSAND DEATHS

10. Compulsory registration of births, still-births and deaths.
11. Responsibility for giving notice of the birth or still-birth of a child.
12. Registration of birth of a child born out of wedlock.
13. Registration of birth occurring outside Zimbabwe.
14. Registration of birth of adopted child born outside Zimbabwe.
15. Notice of birth of abandoned child.
16. Registration of birth where place or date thereof unknown.
17. Notice of birth given by persons who are not responsible persons.
18. Change of name in register.
19. Re-registration of birth of persons born out of wedlock.
20. Responsibility for giving notice of death occurring in Zimbabwe.
21. Registration of death occurring outside Zimbabwe of person on duty.
22. Notice by person finding exposed body.
23. Duty of registrar in case of death of person not attended by medical practitioner.
24. Powers of Registrar-General andregistrars.
25. Registration of birth, still-birth or death after twelve months.

PART IV

GENERAL

27. Offences and penalties.
28. Registration of birth or death which occurred before 20.6.1986.

AN ACT to provide for the registration of births and deaths in Zimbabwe and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith.

[Date of commencement: 20th June, 1986.]

PART I

PRELIMINARY

1    Short title

This Act may be cited as the Births and Deaths Registration Act [Chapter 5:02].

                       2    Interpretation

(1) In this Act—

“adopter” means a person who has adopted a child in terms of the Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06];

[Definition as amended by section 34 of Act 6 of 2005.]

“born” does not include still-born;

“bury” means to deposit in the ground or cremate a dead body;

“entry”, in relation to any register kept in terms of this Act, includes any information contained in any form, certificate or other document forming part of that register;

“medical practitioner” means a person registered as a medical practitioner in terms of the Health Professions

Act [Chapter 27:19];

[Definition as amended by section 151 of Act 6 of 2000.]

“midwife” means a person registered as a midwife in terms of the Health Professions Act [Chapter 27:19];

[Definition as amended by section 151 of Act 6 of 2000.]

“Minister” means the Minister of Home Affairs or any other Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act;

“registrar” means the person appointed to be a registrar of births and deaths for a district and includes a deputy registrar and an assistant registrar;

“Registrar-General” means the officer referred to in paragraph (a) of section three;

“responsible person” means the person whose duty it is to give notice of a birth, still-birth or death in terms of section eleven, twenty or twenty-two, as the case may be;

“still-birth” means any child which has issued forth from its mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and which did not, after being completely expelled from its mother, breathe or show any signs of life.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be regarded as—

• born out of wedlock if his parents were not married to each other at the time of his conception or birth and have not subsequently married each other;
• born in wedlock if his parents were married to each other at the time of his conception or birth, or have subsequently married each other;

and, for the purpose of determining whether or not such a person’s parents were or have been married to each other, a putative or voidable marriage shall be regarded as a valid marriage.

PART II

REGISTRARSAND REGISTERS

                       3    Registrar-General and registrars

Subject to the laws relating to the Public Service, there shall be—

• a Registrar-General of Births and Deaths whose office shall be the central registering office for all notices of births, still-births and deaths and for all such returns as are required in terms of this Act; and
• a registrar for each district; and
• such deputy registrars and assistant registrars as are necessary.

                       4     Registrars to keep and maintain registers and to forward notices to Registrar-General

• A registrar shall keep and maintain registers in the prescribed form in which he shall register the birth, still-birth or death of any person which has occurred in his district and of which he has received notice in the prescribed form.
• A registrar shall sign and forward to the Registrar-General, by registered post within the time prescribed, all notices of births, still-births or deaths and all medical certificates of the causes of death, together with all other documents relating thereto, received by him.

                       5    Registrar-General to keep and maintain registers

The Registrar-General shall keep and maintain registers in which he shall register the birth, still-birth or death of any person of which he has received notice in terms of this Act.

                       6    Certified copies of entries

• The Registrar-General or a registrar may, upon receipt of payment of the prescribed fee, issue to an applicant a certified copy of any entry in any register in his custody.
• The Registrar-General or a registrar may—