The minimum age for a young person to marry in Portugal has been raised to 18, after President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa authorized a decree of the Assembly of the Republic banning the marriage of minors, LUSA reports. Until now, the minimum age for marriage was 16, although parental consent was required if the couple was between 16 and 18. In late February, the Assembly of Portugal raised the minimum age for marriage to 18 and removed references to emancipation from the legislation.
De Sousa put into effect the decree prohibiting child marriage and classifying it as a dangerous situation that requires intervention to protect the rights of children and young people.
The decree, adopted on February 20, also includes a transitional rule for marriages entered into before the law came into force. The law states that “child marriages, early or forced marriages, or similar unions, where a person under the age of 18 lives with another person in conditions similar to those of spouses, regardless of whether they were forced to enter into such a union, regardless of their cultural, ethnic or national origin.”