Law and Humanities
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2827-9735
Published: 26 June 2024
Capacity to Marry: The Minimum Age for Marriage in Cameroon and its Compliance with International Standards
Pierrette Essama-Mekongo
University of Yaounde II, Cameroon
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10.31014/aior.1996.03.02.120
Pages: 60-71
Keywords: Capacity to Marry, Minimum Age for Marriage, International Standards, Cameroonian Law
Abstract
The Preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon Indent 17 affirms the Nation’s aim to protect and promote the family which is the natural foundation of human society as well as protecting women and the young. Families generally start with marriage. Protecting the family therefore implies protecting marriage which goes by setting rules for its validity and maintenance. For a marriage to be valid, parties must fulfil formalities and have capacity. Capacity to marry determines whether an individual may legally be entitled to get married or not. The minimum age for marriage is a key component of capacity to marry as no marriage is valid if contracted under that age. This stems from the fact that age determines other criteria such as the capacity to give valid consent and to comprehend marriage’s commitments. Setting the minimum age for marriage is a requirement enshrined in all relevant international human rights instruments ratified by Cameroon. The question is as to whether Cameroon’s domestic law on marriage complies with international standards. In order to tackle that question, the exegetic method has been used to extract the contents of the relevant international and national instruments, analyse and interpret them in order to determine whether and, if so, to what extent the Cameroonian law on marriage complies with international standards relating to the minimum age for marriage. It is found out that while Cameroonian law complies with some aspects of international standards, it is still lacking in others and that, the only solution is to amend the existing law so that it may fully comply with international precepts.
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