News - Consanguineous marriages to be banned in Azerbaijan

The Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan has passed a law in the third—and final—reading, which introduces changes in the country’s Family Code prohibiting marriages between close relatives, Haqqin.az reports. As reported in the parliament, two clauses were added to the article of the Family Code, which define the circumstances preventing marriage, providing for the prohibition of marriage between brothers and/or sisters who have the same biological grandparent and/or grandmother, as well as between cousins and nieces who are biologically related. In addition, a clause was removed from the Family Code that allowed the age of consent for minors wishing to marry to be reduced by no more than one year if there are valid reasons. As it was noted in the parliament, in many cases, this legal norm leads to the curtailing of the rights and freedoms of minors, as it is not clear by what criteria the aforesaid valid reasons are determined. According to the law, the minimum age of marriage in Azerbaijan is set at 18 years. The new law will enter into force in the country on July 1, 2025.