Federal Constitutional Court: Law on child marriages must be improved

The law on child marriages that came into force under the grand coalition violates the Basic Law. In its decision, the Federal Constitutional Court is pushing for greater legal protection for those affected.

According to the Federal Constitutional Court, the law on so-called child marriages, which has been in force in Germany since 2017, violates the Basic Law. The Karlsruhe judges are calling for the existing regulations to be improved by mid-2024.

The Federal Constitutional Court sees it as legitimate to make a marriage dependent on a minimum age of the spouses – and accordingly to declare a marriage invalid if a spouse is below this age limit at the time of the marriage. However, in such a case, regulations would have to be made to protect the rights of the spouses concerned.

The law stipulates a minimum age of 16 years

The Federal Constitutional Court thus partly follows the assessment of the Federal Court of Justice. In 2018, he dealt with the case of a couple from Syria who had come to Germany in 2015 and had married shortly before. At that time, the man was 21 years old and his partner was 14 years old.

However, the “Act to Combat Child Marriages”, which came into force in 2017, declares marriages invalid if one spouse is younger than 16 years. This also applies if the marriage was legally concluded abroad.

The BGH criticized the fact that the law does not allow any exceptions and instead urged that a decision should be made on a case-by-case basis as to whether a marriage is effective or not. The girls who are affected, in particular, are at risk of losing claims such as maintenance payments or property compensation if their marriage is declared invalid.

New regulation until the end of June 2024

The Federal Constitutional Court has now ruled that a marriage can be declared null and void without prior examination of the individual case. However, the consequences of the invalidity of the marriage for the spouses involved would have to be regulated by law. In addition, a marriage concluded abroad should also be valid in Germany as soon as both spouses have reached the age of majority.

The law on child marriages is to be amended accordingly by the end of June next year. Until then, the applicable regulations will remain in force. For the time being, courts should set their own standards for maintenance claims.

Az. 1 BvL 7/18