Email this article 
THE AGE OF MARRIAGE AND AGE OF CONSENT: CROSS-BRUNCH LEGAL CONFLICTS
- Authors: Barysheva K.A1, Matveeva M.V1
-
Affiliations:
- National Research University Higher School of Economics
- Issue: Vol 22, No 4 (2018)
- Pages: 506-526
- Section: COMPARATIVE LAW
- URL: https://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/21145
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-2337-2018-22-4-506-526
Cite item
Full Text
Abstract
Currently, all over the world, including in Muslim countries, there is a tendency to increase the age of marriage. In Russia, the law does not directly set the minimum age of marriage. The reduction of the age of marriage is possible up to 16 years if there are valid reasons for it. The family laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation may establish the conditions and procedure for marriage of persons under this age. A literal interpretation of laws indicates the absence of lower age limit at marriage. The article deals with the correlation of the concepts of "marriage age" and "age of consent". Analysis of the Art. 134 of the Criminal Code allows to conclude that the provision on marriage to the victim, as a basis for exemption from punishment, contradicts the basic conditions of marriage. In fact, when making a decision, the courts cannot reliably determine for what purpose the marriage was concluded, whether there are grounds to consider the marriage fictitious, concluded for the avoidance of criminal punishment or for another selfish purpose. In criminal cases, it should be mandatory to ensure the participation of the staff of the guardianship authority in the criminal process, giving them the right to conduct inspections and to give conclusions about the real desire of the couple to create a family. It seems controversial to apply the rule of exemption from punishment due to change of the situation to the perpetrator who committed the crime under Art. 134 of the Criminal Code. The act itself does not cease to be socially dangerous: sexual relations with a person under the age of consent are still ongoing, and marriage does not entail a legal right to sexual relations with a minor under the age of 16, at least not expressly provided for by law. It is proposed to define a special obligation for the release of the guilty from punishment: if a marriage concluded with a person under the age of 16 years is terminated at the initiative of a probationer earlier than four years after his imprisonment, the court may decide to abolish the conditional sentence and the execution of the sentence imposed by the court.
About the authors
Kseniya A Barysheva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Author for correspondence.
Email: kbarysheva@hse.ru
Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminalistics, Law Faculty, National Research University Higher School of Economics
20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow, Russia, 101000Maria V Matveeva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Email: mmatveeva@hse.ru
Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Law, Law Faculty, National Research University Higher School of Economicss
20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow, Russia, 101000References
- Beitsch R. (2017) Child Brides Join Push to Raise Marriage Age. Available at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/05/12/child-brides-join-push-to-raise-marriage-age. [Accessed June 8th, 2018].
- Bratus', S.N., Orlovskij, P.E. (ed.) (1971) Kommentarij k Kodeksu o brake i sem'e RSFSR [Commentary to the marriage and family Code of the RSFSR]. Moscow, Yuridicheskaya literature, pp. 248. (in Russian).
- Dolgova, S.V. (2008) K voprosu o soderzhanii ponyatiya «otstavanie v psihicheskom razvitii, ne svyazannoe s psihicheskim rasstrojstvom» [On the issue of defining psychological retardness which is not determined by mental disorder]. Bulletin of Baltic Federal University. I. Kant. (9), pp. 79-84. (in Russian).
- Duyunov, V.K., Kuznecov, A.P., Kruglikov, L.L. (ed.) (2005) Kommentarij k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossijskoj Federacii: Postatejnyj [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation]. Moscow, Volters Kluver, pp. 368. (in Russian).
- Grebenkov, A.A., Baybarin, A.A. (2013) Problemy kvalifikacii nenasil'stvennyh seksual'nyh posyagatel'stv na lic v vozraste do 12 let [Problems of qualification of nonviolent sexual assault on person under the age of 12 years]. Reviews of the Southwest State University: History and law. (4), pp. 54-61. (in Russian).
- Krasheninnikov, P.V. (ed.) Gongalo, B. M., Miheeva, L. YU., Ruzakova, O. A. (2008) Semejnoe pravo: Uchebnik [Family law: Textbook]. Moscow. Statut publt, pp. 43. (in Russian).
- Marrying too young end child marriage (2012) Published by the United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA. New York. (in English).
- Millerova, E.A. (2015) O nekotoryh problemah kvalifikacii razvratnyh dejstvij, sopryazhennyh s izgotovleniem i rasprostraneniem pornograficheskih materialov [On certain problems of classification of sexual abuse related to production and distribution of pornographic materials]. Criminal law, (2), pp. 36-39. (in Russian).
- Ostrovskaya, Yu.A. (2017) Problemnye voprosy primeneniya statej 134 i 135 Ugolovnogo kodeksa Rossijskoj Federacii i vozmozhnye puti ih resheniya [Problematic issues of application of Article 134 of Criminal Code of Russian Federation and possible solutions]. Bulletin of the Udmurt University. Economics and law. (4), pp. 128-132. (in Russian).
- Pantyuhina, I.V. (2011) Ponyatie prestuplenij protiv polovoj svobody i polovoj neprikosnovennosti lichnosti [The concept of crimes against sexual freedom and sexual immunity]. Legal science. (1), pp. 52-54. (in Russian).
- Pantyuhina, I.V. (2016) Analiz special'nogo osvobozhdeniya ot nakazaniya za sovershenie prestupleniya, predusmotrennogo ch.1 st.134 UK RF [Analysis of a special exemption from punishment for the commission of a crime under Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation]. Legal science. (1), pp. 101-110. (in Russian).
- Pudovochkin, Y.E. (2010) Problemy ponimaniya i kvalifikacii prestuplenij protiv polovoj neprikosnovennosti nesovershennoletnih: novoe v ugolovnom zakonodatel'stve [Problems of understanding and qualification of crimes against sexual inviolability of minors: new in criminal legislation]. Russian justice. (4), pp. 64-76. (in Russian).
- Robertson St. Age of Consent Laws. Children and Youth in History, Item №230 Available at: URL: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/items/show/230 [Accessed June 20th, 2018]
- Ruzakova, O.A., Ruzakov, A.B. (2018) K voprosu o nepriznanii v Rossijskoj Federacii odnopolyh brakov, zaregistrirovannyh za rubezhom [On Non-Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Registered Abroad by the Russian Federation]. Family and Housing Law. (2), pp. 22-25. (in Russian).
- Shershen’, T.V. (2010) Princip ravenstva suprugov: genezis i nekotorye problemy ego realizacii v sovremennom semejnom prave Rossii [The principle of equality of spouses: Genesis and some problems of its implementation in the modern family law of Russia]. Russian justice. (7), pp. 28-31. (in Russian).
- Shershenevich, G. F. (1995) Uchebnik russkogo grazhdanskogo prava (po izdaniyu 1907 g.) [The textbook of Russian civil law (under the edition of 1907)]. Moscow. Firma «SPARK», pp. 41. (in Russian).
- Shiyan, V.I. (2014) Bespomoshchnoe sostoyanie poterpevshego kak ob"ektivnyj priznak v prestupleniyah protiv lichnosti, sovershaemyh s primeneniem nasiliya [The helpless state of a victim as an objective element of violent crimes against a person]. Criminal law. (5), pp. 103-105. (in Russian)
- Skripchenko, N. Yu. (2015) Postanovlenie Plenuma Verhovnogo Suda RF ot 4 dekabrya 2014 g. № 16 «O sudebnoj praktike po delam o prestupleniyah protiv polovoj neprikosnovennosti i polovoj svobody lichnosti» [Plenum of the Superior Court of the Russian Federation did not say in its ruling no. 16 dated 4th of December 2014, "On court practice for cases of crimes against sex immunity and personal sexual freedom"]. Criminal law. (5), pp. 103-105. (in Russian)
- Standley, K. (2006) Family Law. 5th ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (in English).
- Tallon F. (1992) The new legal marriage age: 21 years. Imbonezamuryango. (25): 24-5. Available at: URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12319662 [Accessed June 18th, 2018] (in English).
- Tarhov V. A. (2007) Rossijskoe semejnoe pravo: uchebnoe posobie [Russian family law study guide]. 2nd ed. Moscow. Jurist publ, pp. 60. (in Russian).
- Wodon, Quentin T.; Male, Chata; Nayihouba, Kolobadia Ada; Onagoruwa, Adenike Opeoluwa; Savadogo, Aboudrahyme; Yedan, Ali; Edmeades, Jeff; Kes, Aslihan; John, Neetu; Murithi, Lydia; Steinhaus, Mara; Petroni, Suzanne (2017) Economic impacts of child marriage: global synthesis report. Washington, DC: The World Bank and International Center for Research on Women. Available at: URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/530891498511398503/pdf/116829-WP-P151842-PUBLIC-EICM-Global-Conference-Edition-June-27.pdf [Accessed June 18th, 2018] (in English).
- Yakushev, P. A. (2017) Minimal'nyj vozrast vstupleniya v brak: tradicionnoe i pravovoe regulirovanie [Minimum Marriage Age: Traditional and Legal Regulation]. Family and Housing Law. (4), pp. 33-36. (in Russian).
