Issues of person’s marriage age under the current Family Code of Ukraine

Abstract

The scientific article analyzes the issue of marriage age of a person under the legislation of Ukraine. The historical retrospective of this issue and the experience of legal regulation of other countries are also explored. It is noted that the marriage age in all states is approximately the same. Although in some countries, as a whole, no minimum age is required for a marriage union. Marriage must be reached on the day the marriage is registered, which means that a person who has not yet reached the marital age but can reach it no later than one month after the date of application. Family law provides for the possibility of granting the right to marriage to a person who is not yet married. Marriage to a person under the age of 18 is a matter for the court. According to the law, the limit to which the marriage age can be clearly set, but the specified norm of family law does not even contain an approximate list of exceptional cases, which is the basis for granting the right to marriage to a person who has not reached the age of marriage. It is proposed to make provision in Article 23 of the Family Code of Ukraine, which would provide an approximate list of reasons why persons may marry before they reach the marriageable age, namely: birth of a child, pregnancy, cohabitation, serious illness, and any other circumstances that justify and make expeditious marriage expedient. Parental consent is not required to resolve the issue of reducing the age of marriage. However, their position on the matter should be clarified in the lawsuit. Parents' opinion may help to establish the true circumstances of the case and to determine whether the granting of this right is in the interests of the minor, since this is the main criterion for satisfying the application for the right to marry.