Is it possible to marry at 16: the court granted the right to marry to a pregnant applicant
The Khmelnytskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region considered case No. 686/20683/26 in a separate proceeding on an application for granting the right to marry to a person who has reached the age of sixteen. The court verified whether granting such a right corresponds to the interests of the applicant, as required by the provisions of the Family Code of Ukraine.
Essence of the case
A 16-year-old applicant applied to the Khmelnytskyi City District Court requesting the right to marry. She stated that although she had not yet reached the legal marriage age, she had been in a relationship with her fiancé, who is an adult, for a long time. They share mutual feelings of love and respect, as well as a joint intention to register their marriage.
To support her claims, the applicant reported that she is 11 weeks pregnant and intends to give birth. The pregnancy was confirmed by a certificate from the communal non-commercial enterprise "Khmelnytskyi Regional Hospital" of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council.
During the court hearing, the applicant, her legal representative, and her representative supported the stated claims. The fiancé also asked the court to satisfy the application, noting that the decision to marry is voluntary and well-considered.
The representative of the guardianship and custody authority did not object to satisfying the application. The applicant’s father submitted a request to consider the case in his absence and also did not express objections to granting the right to marry.
After examining the case materials, the court established that the applicant had not reached the marriage age but is pregnant and intends to marry her adult fiancé. These circumstances were confirmed by the parties' passport documents and a medical certificate indicating that the applicant was 10–11 weeks pregnant.
Position and decision of the court
Providing a legal assessment of the established circumstances, the court noted that according to part one of article 22 of the Family Code of Ukraine, the marriage age for women and men is set at eighteen years.
At the same time, part two of article 23 of the Family Code of Ukraine provides that upon the application of a person who has reached sixteen years of age, the court may grant the right to marry if it is established that this corresponds to their interests.
The court also noted that according to part three of article 293 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, cases concerning the granting of the right to marry are considered in a separate proceeding.
Evaluating the circumstances of the case, the court found that the applicant voluntarily expressed the desire to marry her adult fiancé, and there are no obstacles to granting permission to marry in the case materials. The court stated that the intention to marry is voluntary, and its implementation corresponds to the interests of the applicant.
As a result of the case consideration, the Khmelnytskyi City District Court concluded that the application should be satisfied.
The court noted that a person who has reached sixteen years of age but has not reached the legally established marriage age may be granted the right to marry provided that such a decision corresponds to their interests. In this case, the court found such grounds, including the voluntary intention to marry, the absence of objections from interested parties, and the circumstances of the applicant’s pregnancy confirmed by the case materials.
In view of this, the court satisfied the application and granted the applicant the right to marry her adult fiancé.
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