UN official: 1959 personal status law’s minimum marriage age remains 18, with limited exceptions

When asked whether a law passed last year enabling marriage as young as eight had taken effect, Gulam Isaac Sai provided clarification about the status of the 1959 personal status law and recent parliamentary action.

He said the Iraqi parliament proposed an amendment related to the 1959 law, which allows religious communities to have their own personal status codes. The UN engaged in the process to ensure provisions on minimum age of marriage were preserved. According to Gulam, the primary law remains the 1959 law, which establishes 18 as the minimum age, with limited exceptional cases that may allow 15 under specific circumstances involving assessments and parental consent.

Gulam said the amendment prompted media attention and concerns; he described ongoing consultation over custody, inheritance and the drafting of codes for communities but emphasized that the minimum-age protection was maintained in his view and that some mechanisms permit communities to opt in or out of a newly developed code.