Measures to Prevent Early, Forced and Child Marriages

Brief Description

The measures to prevent early, forced and child marriages include reinforcement of criminal and legal action, in particular, through amendments to the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, Article 154: Forcing Individuals Under the Age of 17 into Actual Marital Relationships and Article 155: Forcing Women into Marriage, Abducting Women for the Purpose of Marriage, and Obstructing the Entry of Women in Marriage. Other legislation improvements include Law No. 179 on Amending Some of the Laws and Regulations of the Kyrgyz Republic (Family Code and Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic) of 17 November 2016. As a result of this law, the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, Article 155-1 contains a provision stating that “parents (or individuals exercising parental authority) of the person involved in a religious marriage ceremony, the person who conducted such a religious marriage ceremony, as well as the adult person who participated in a religious marriage ceremony with a minor in violation of legislative requirements on marriageable age are subject to imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years.” The Family Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, Article 14, Para 3 was amended to add a provision that “all individuals responsible for violation of this Code on Marriage Age shall be held liable in accordance with applicable laws of the Kyrgyz Republic.”