National parliament to review legal marriage age

Yangel Bin Laden

Seven years later, the Parliament reconsidered the Marriage Act. This time, the amendment review will focus only on one part of it, namely the legal age for marriage.

Bhutan’s Marriage Act of 1980 stipulates that the legal age of marriage for females is 16 years and for males is 18 years. This is in contradiction with other laws and regulations which stipulate that the legal age of marriage for both males and females is 18 years.

Law Commission chairman Kuenga said that although the country’s laws recognize 18 as the legal age for marriage, the Marriage Act does not clearly reflect this. “The law needs to be unified.”

The Supreme Court, the Penal Code of Bhutan, the Contract Act of Bhutan 2013 and the Child Care and Protection Act of Bhutan all recognize the legal age of marriage as 18 years for both males and females.

For CardSections 1-14 of the Bhutan Marriage Act 1980 (as amended in 2024) provide that:

“Given the restrictions on marriages of minors in the above provisions Card 1-11. If a man under the age of 18 marries a woman under the age of 18, they will be deemed to have not reached the legal age for marriage and no marriage certificate will be issued.

During the second government’s term, the Marriage Amendment Act 2016 was considered by Parliament, but the House of Representatives rejected the amendments proposed by the Women, Children and Youth Committee (WCYC).

WCYC proposed 16 provisions to amend regulations regarding child support benefits, separation expenses payable by an abusive spouse, and support responsibilities for illegitimate children after the mother’s death.

The House of Representatives postponed the amendment five times. The House of Representatives suggested enacting a new Marriage Law instead of amending the Marriage Law because the existing Marriage Law is outdated and repeated amendments make it more confusing.

Ultimately, the proposed amendment became a dead bill.

Bhutan’s Marriage Act of 1980 has been amended several times, with the 74th Parliament amending 46 articles in 1996, 10 articles in 2009, 6 articles in 2005 by the 83rd Parliament and 1 article in 2006 by the 85th Parliament.