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Category: Family Law

Child Marriage: Global trends and future prospects – Part 2Marry proposal written in ballon

Child Marriage: Global trends and future prospects – Part 2

Published 22nd August 2023

by Katy Macfarlane, Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Law, University of Edinburgh.

In Part 1 of this blog, I examined the work of UNICEF and the UNFPA to end the practice of child marriage by 2030. What has this got to do with Scotland? The majority of the consequences of child marriage that are highlighted in Part 1 do not apply in Scotland – do they? We live in a progressive, child-focussed, child-centred society. We care about children and child protection – don’t we? In Scotland, the average age of the parties to a marriage is mid-30s. The average age that a woman in Scotland gives birth is between the ages of 30 and 34.[1]

Scotland can ably demonstrate that, in setting the legal minimum age for marriage and civil partnership at 16, it has complied with the relevant international human rights conventions. For example, Article 2 of the UN Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (which the UK ratified in 1970) states that, “States Parties […] shall take legislative action to specify a minimum age for marriage […]”.and it goes on to say that, “No marriage shall be legally entered into by a person under this age”.

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Child Marriage: Global trends and future prospects – Part 1

Child Marriage: Global trends and future prospects – Part 1

Published 10th August 2023

by Katy Macfarlane, Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Law, University of Edinburgh.

The minimum age at which a person can marry in Scotland is 16. This is set out in section 1 of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977. The consent of a parent is not required.[1] Is a change to the minimum age in the pipeline? There is growing support in Scotland to increase the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to age 18. This would bring Scots law in line with the law in England and Wales where the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force in February 2023.[2] It would also comply with the repeated recommendations by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to increase to the minimum age for marriage to age 18.[3]

Why should the Scottish Government take seriously the increasing calls to set a minimum age of 18 for marriage and civil partnership? To address this question, Part 1 of this blog will look beyond Scotland and the UK and take note of the global trends and future prospects for child marriage.

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Building families through surrogacy (I): Reform of surrogacy lawbaby with parent (hands(

Building families through surrogacy (I): Reform of surrogacy law

Published 25th May 2023

In the first of two-part posting, Professor Gillian Black (Commissioner, Scottish Law Commission and Chair of Scots Private Law, University of Edinburgh), Professor Nick Hopkins (Commissioner, Law Commission of England and Wales), and Nic Vetta (Legal Assistant, Scottish Law Commission) outline the Commissions’ joint proposals for a new regulatory regime for surrogacy in Scotland and in England and Wales.

On 29 March, the published their joint report, Building families through surrogacy: a new law. The report and draft bill outline a new regulatory regime for surrogacy that offers more clarity, safeguards and support.

In this blog, we set out our main recommendations for reform of surrogacy law and then in the following post provide a closer examination of the specific recommendations relating to access to information for surrogate-born children, and how these will provide much greater benefits for surrogate-born children from a child rights perspective.

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