Court denies permission for 16-year-old's marriage: 'Not in the minor's best interest'

An Iraqi family applied to the court to allow their 16-year-old daughter, whom they had engaged some time ago, to marry. The court rejected the request on the grounds that “the institution of marriage, which is of high importance for spouses and society, cannot be in the best interest of the minor for whom permission is requested, considering her age and physical/psychological development.”

ASSOCIATION INTERVENED

According to the report in Hürriyet, the Aewaz family, who live in Ankara, engaged their 16-year-old daughter to Muhammed H. After some time, the family applied to the Ankara 10th Family Court, requesting permission for their daughter to marry her fiancé, stating that the groom-to-be's frequent visits to their home were causing gossip and that they wanted to put an end to what they described as an “unpleasant situation.” Upon learning of the application, the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) Association filed a lawsuit through their lawyer, Şahin Antakyalıoğlu, to prevent the marriage. In the petition, lawyer Antakyalıoğlu requested that early marriage be identified as a violation of child rights, that the violation be prevented, and that the request for marriage permission for the child, R., be denied.

NO EXTRAORDINARY REASON

The court decided to reject the case, which was filed on October 3, and did not grant permission for the marriage. In its ruling, the court stated: “When all evidence in the file is evaluated together; it is understood that according to the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), an extraordinary situation must exist for permission to be granted for marriage; the issues put forward by the plaintiffs and the person for whom marriage is requested, such as the child being engaged and the fiancé's frequent visits causing gossip, have not been accepted by our court as a significant or extraordinary reason.”

News Source: 12punto