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CEDAW and the Law:
The Civil Code, Law on Gender Equality and Marriage and Family Law have other
specific provisions on equality in marriage and family relations as can be found in the
Indicators below: for example, equality relating to property, parental authority, and deciding on
the number and spacing of children.
Indicator 109 Does legislation guarantee the same right and conditions to enter into
marriage; that is, the right to decide if, when and who to marry
Indicator 109(a)
Indicator 109(b)
Is there an equal minimum age of 18 years for marriage Is
there prohibition of child marriage
Is registration of birth in an official registry required
Indicator 110 Does legislation guarantee marriage only with free and full consent of
both spouses
Indicator 111
Is there a legislative prohibition on traditional practices that restrict the
right to decide if, when and who to marry, including kidnapping for
marriage, dowries, bigamy and polygamy, and restriction on
remarriage of widows/widowers
Article 64(3) of the Constitution states: “Marriage shall conform to the principles of free
consent, progressive union, monogamy and equality between husband and wife.” There are
several legal provisions on marriage and family as follows.
Marriage and Family Law
Article 9 of the Marriage and Family Law provides the conditions for entry into a marriage: (a)
the man must be aged at least 20 years and the woman aged at least 18 years. This
requirement is emphasized as well in Article 2 of the Marriage and Family Law, which identifies
as a basic principle of marriage and family regime voluntary marriage; (b) the marriage must
be voluntarily decided by the man and woman. There should be no use of force or deception;
and (c) the marriage is not forbidden by Article 10 of the Marriage and Family Law.
302
Article 4 of the Marriage and Family Law explicitly forbids underage marriage, forcing
marriage, hindering voluntary and progressive marriage, feigned marriage, and deceiving
other persons into marriage. Article 8 of the Marriage and Family Law defines ‘underage
marriage’ as a marriage when one or both marriage partners has or have not reached the
marriage age prescribed by law and forcing other persons to get married against their will. An
‘illegal marriage’ will result if the requirements on age and consent are not fulfilled; that is,
establishment of husband and wife relations with breach in conditions provided by law. 694 In
such cases, an annulment of the marriage can be requested. 695
Civil Code
The Civil Code also contains provisions on marriage. Article 39 states that males and females
who have fully met the conditions for marriage in accordance with the law have the right to
marriage of the free will. The Civil Code further states that the freedom of marriage between
694
Ibid., Article 8(3)
695
Ibid., Articles 15-17
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW