In Kuwait, an official decree has been published regarding the amendment to Article 26 of Law No. 51 of 1984 on personal status. The decree prohibits the formalization of marriage or its approval for individuals who have not yet reached 18 years of age at the moment of formalization. In the published decree, which appeared in the official newspaper "Kuwait Today" in the first issue released by the publisher, it is indicated that this law will come into force on March 16, 2025.
The explanatory note to the law emphasizes that the Constitution of Kuwait emphasizes the protection of family, motherhood, and childhood in accordance with the principles of Islamic law and takes into account the international obligations of the country, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as a person who has not reached 18 years of age, and obliges the state to protect them from early marriages. It also points out that the Convention calls for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, which ensures free and full consent of spouses, and also supports the establishment of a minimum age for marriage. Therefore, Article 26 of Law No. 51 of 1984 on personal status has been amended in such a way as to prohibit the formalization of marriage if both spouses have not yet reached 18 years of age.
Additionally, a law was adopted to amend a new point in Article 15 of the Law on personal status, which also prescribes a prohibition on the formalization of marriage for individuals who have not yet reached 18 years of age.
