Duma rejects proposed law on marriages before 16

The Russian State Duma has withdrawn from further consideration a draft law that would have allowed local governments to permit as exceptions and in light of extraordinary circumstances marriages for children between the ages of 14 and 16, at their request and with the consent of their parents. As reported by a Rosbalt correspondent, the decision was taken Friday by the lower house.

The proposed legislation (an amendment to Article 13 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation) was rejected by the Federation Council in November 2002. Senators then reached the conclusion that 14-year-olds were not ready to enter into marriage because of physical, psychological and intellectual immaturity. In addition, the conclusions of the Federation Council Committee for Social Policy contained the opinion that the proposed legislation did not conform to the Penal Code of the Russian Federation with respect to responsibility for the corruption of minors. The senators' opinion was shared by 286 deputies.