Marriageable age – condition of marriage contraction

The most important and immutable condition for contracting marriage is marriageable age. It is defines by State which recognizes marriage registered only under the national laws. Marriageable age is a generally excepted juridical fact. In various Lithuanian society and State development periods it was defined by in force legal acts of other countries and the State’s laws. The marriageable age established by Civil Code of Lithuanian Republic, which came in force on the 1st of July , 2001, can be interpreted in two ways. First, positively – assessing marriageable age in connection with person’s majority. Second, negatively – considering allowance for person to contract a marriage at any age. The norms of Civil Code allowing children under the age to contract a marriage, violate Constitutional rule, which guarantee the right for childhood and its protection. Furthermore, these norms break Convention for Child Rights, other international legal acts and the regulations of the same Civil Code, which specifies children’s rights. The paper analyzes legal acts valid till 2001 and present, which regulate the marriageable age as well as the legal norms of foreign countries. Moreover, it provides discussions with other authors expressing their opinion on analyzed problem. Analyzing the main problems discussed in this article author comes to several conclusions and introduces suggestions how to improve the norms of Civil Code.The paper provides specific suggestions for changes of the Civil Code norms. First, to leave regulation determining marriageable age which conforms to majority? Second, to give emancipation of under–age the same status as the marriageable age. Third, to repeal regulations allowing children to contract a marriage and violate children rights defined in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on fundaments of the protection of child rights in the Republic of Lithuania, Convention for Child rights and other international legal acts