Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

206 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
A joint General Recommendation and Comment on harmful
practices, from the Committee on the Rights of the Child and
the CEDAW Committee, said that:
“A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced
marriage, given that one and/or both parties have
not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a
matter of respecting the child’s evolving capacities
and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or
his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below
18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional
circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16
years of age and that such decisions are made by a
judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds
defined by law and on the evidence of maturity,
without deference to culture and tradition.” 547
The joint General Recommendation and Comment proposed a
detailed regime of laws to address forced and early marriage,
including raising awareness, addressing root causes, ensuring
proper registration of births and marriages, protection orders,
and ensuring access to remedies and reparations, including
using the criminal law. 548
Forced marriage, in relation to adults and children, is
recognized as a crime in the Istanbul Convention, which also
recognizes the frequent cross-border nature of this crime and
calls on States parties to “take the necessary legislative or
other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of luring
an adult or a child to the territory of a Party or State other than
the one she or he resides in with the purpose of forcing this
adult or child to enter into a marriage is criminalised”. 549
547
Joint general recommendation, above note 544, paragraph 20.
548
Ibid, paragraph 55.
549
Istanbul Convention, above note 509, Article 37 (Forced marriage).