Austria’s Constitutional Court upholds minimum marriage age of 18

Austria’s Constitutional Court has upheld the minimum marriage age of 18, backing the rule behind a Feldkirch district court’s decision to declare a couple’s marriage invalid, ORF Vorarlberg reported.

The couple, an Austrian man and a Serbian woman, married in Serbia when they were 19 and 16. After the woman moved to Vorarlberg, the Feldkirch court declared the marriage null and void. The couple appealed and asked the Constitutional Court to review the law.

Parliament unanimously abolished the option of allowing minors to marry in 2025. The couple argued that an absolute ban was disproportionate and that a court should be able to assess a minor’s maturity and understanding in individual cases.

The Constitutional Court said Parliament had acted within its powers by making adulthood a requirement without exceptions. It said the rule aims to protect minors from marrying too young and to prevent child and forced marriages. The court also noted that marriage has far-reaching personal, social and legal consequences.

The court ruled that postponing the point at which a marriage can take effect does not infringe the right to marry, the right to respect for private and family life or the principle of equality. The couple’s appeal before the Feldkirch court is still pending.