Marriages contracted between minors cannot be banned across the board by the German state. Marriages between children or adolescents under the age of 16 that took place abroad do not fundamentally lose their validity when these children or adolescents immigrate to Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday.
It said that, in principle, the German state had the right to set a minimum age for marriage and to apply this rule to immigrants. However, the Constitutional Court ruled that it must also clarify the consequences of this. It would have to be clarified, for example, whether maintenance claims exist for one of the spouses after the annulment of such a marriage. It must also be clearly regulated whether the partners may have their marriage recognised after they have reached the age of majority.
The German Bundestag now has until June 30, 2024 to create clear regulations for these issues. Until then, the blanket ban, which is actually unconstitutional, is to remain in force for the time being.
The background to the ruling is a family law case involving two Syrian immigrants. In 2015, they entered into a marriage in Syria according to the local Sharia law. At that time, the man was 21 years old, the woman 14. When they arrived in Germany in August of the same year, the woman was taken into care by the local youth welfare office and placed in a special youth facility for underage refugees.
Subsequently, the Youth Welfare Office acquired custody of the girl in court. The man sued, referring to the valid connection between him and the 14-year-old according to Syrian law.
https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2023/kinderehe/