[3] Free love is precious, but the legal marriage age cannot be abandoned
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
Case review
On November 28, 2020, netizens reported that in Chaoyang District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, an 18-year-old high school student married a 14-year-old middle school student. The two cohabited directly without reaching the legal marriage age, which is illegal. Related videos circulated online, drawing widespread attention.
As the incident quickly escalated, the Guiyu Town Government in Chaoyang District promptly launched an investigation. It was found that the individuals in the video were Lu (male, 17 years old, dropped out of school) from Fengxin Village, Guiyu Town, and Zhuang (female, 13 years old, on academic leave) from a neighboring village. They had been in a free relationship for over a year. Due to the weak legal awareness of both sets of parents, a wedding was held according to rural customs on November 26 of this year, but no marriage registration was applied for at the civil affairs department.
Currently, the Guiyu Town Government and the district civil affairs department have provided legal education to both sets of parents, ordering them to return the female to her original family and have her parents fulfill their guardianship duties. Further psychological counseling will be provided to both parties to guide them toward correct views on marriage, and they will be advised to return to school.
Relevant legal provisions
The Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 6: Legal Marriage Age
The marriage age shall be no earlier than 22 years old for men and no earlier than 20 years old for women.
Article 10: Invalid Marriage
A marriage shall be invalid under any of the following circumstances: (1) bigamy; (2) having a prohibited familial relationship; (3) suffering from a disease that is medically considered unsuitable for marriage before marriage, which has not been cured after marriage; (4) not having reached the legal marriage age.
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Interpretation (I) on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
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Article 8
If a party applies to a people's court for a declaration of invalidity of a marriage in accordance with Article 10 of the Marriage Law, and the statutory circumstances for invalidity have ceased to exist at the time of application, the people's court shall not support the application.
[1] The author's perspective
The legal marriage age refers to the minimum age at which men and women are permitted to marry according to the law. That is, if either party is below this age, they cannot marry; only when they reach or exceed this age can they marry. Stipulating the minimum marriage age for men and women in explicit legal provisions is a common practice both in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. The main purpose is determined by the natural and social attributes of marital relationships. According to the laws of human growth, only when men and women reach a certain age do their bodies, physiology, and psychology mature. If they marry too early and begin sexual activity prematurely, it may bring adverse consequences to both parties' physical and mental health. If they marry too early, the individuals may not yet fully possess the ability to judge and handle affairs, making it difficult to fulfill their responsibilities to the family, children, and society after marriage. Therefore, China's legal marriage age of 22 for men and 20 for women not only considers the physical and mental development of young men and women but also takes into account the national population control policy and the acceptance level of urban and rural residents, which is in line with China's national conditions.
It is worth noting that when relevant authorities determine whether a marriage is valid, they must take the time of the determination as the node. If at that time either party still has not reached the legal marriage age, the marriage is confirmed as invalid. If the actual age of both parties at the time of marriage was one or two years below the legal marriage age, but by the time the parties or interested parties apply for a declaration of invalidity, or when the relevant authorities are to confirm the marriage as invalid, both parties have already reached the legal marriage age, the marriage cannot be confirmed as invalid. In short, for marriages where the parties have not reached the legal marriage age, the invalidity should be raised or confirmed before the parties reach the legal marriage age.
