The Federal Supreme Court of Germany ruled earlier this month that child marriage is constitutional so long as it takes place prior to entering the country.
According to the German publication Die Welt, the court ruled it unconstitutional for Germany to outright ban child marriages that were lawfully conducted abroad.
“In the specific case, it was about a Syrian refugee couple, who had fled in August 2015 over the Balkan route because of the war to Germany,” reports the outlet. “The couple had previously been legally married on 10 February 2015 in a Syrian Sharia court. The husband was 21 years old on his wedding day, his wife was at the age of 14.”
Upon immigrating to Germany from Syria, the couple was separated following registration in the Schweinfurt facility. The 14-year-old girl had been placed in a youth welfare facility for female underage refugees; her appointed guardian was the Aschaffenburg youth welfare office. Her 21-year-old husband had no contact with her and was not even informed of her whereabouts. – READ MORE