Starting from July this year, marriages between close relatives will be banned, said the Deputy Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan, Abiddin Huseynov, during a public hearing on "Family, Women, and Children's Rights – As the Main Priority of Constitutional Rights" organized by the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan within the framework of the Constitution and Sovereignty Year, Azerbaijani media reports.
The Deputy Minister mentioned that, based on the laws adopted, eliminating the legal possibility of lowering the marriage age in Azerbaijan, and in accordance with the law that will come into force in July this year, prohibition of marriages between close relatives have been directed to protect the health of the population: "To more effectively combat early marriages, new provisions have been added to the Codes of Criminal and Administrative Offenses. At the same time, we are working to prevent early marriages and unofficial marriages. Individuals who apply to the Ministry of Justice for divorce are offered psychological services. After consulting a psychologist, 20% of those individuals decide not to proceed with the divorce. Work is ongoing in this direction. It is expected that this issue will be regulated by law."
Note that President Ilham Aliyev approved amendments to the Family Code on July 23, 2024. According to the amendment, which will come into force on July 1, 2025, the list of cases preventing marriage in Azerbaijan will include children of siblings (brothers and/or sisters) with the same biological grandparents, nieces and nephews with biological relations to uncles (aunts) or brothers (sisters), as well as the children of paternal aunts (maternal uncles) and brothers (sisters).
