The German Federal Court has ruled that child marriages will be legal in Germany, provided they are carried out “legally” under Sharia Law.
The bombshell new ruling could have implications on the way child marriages, conducted legally under laws from overseas, are treated in the country.
Despite a new law in 2017 to raise the legal age for marriage to 18 in Germany, this latest verdict will mean the age limit will only apply to those who “follow” German law.
The court decreed that all future cases of child marriage must be examined on an individual basis to determine whether they were performed under international or religious laws, rather than have a blanket ban on adults marrying children in the country.
The ruling comes from a controversial case involving a Syrian man who was separated from his underage “wife” when he arrived with her in Germany as asylum seekers in August 2015.
The marriage was declared legal in Germany by the court due to the fact that the man married the child under Sharia Law in his home country.
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