Czech Republic

There is no publicly available government data on child marriage in Czechia.

According to data collected by the Czech Statistical Office, in 2018 there were 13 cases of girls being married at 17 or below, decreasing from almost 2000 cases 30 years ago. Reports estimate that the child marriage rates are higher amongst the Roma community. It is speculated that these marriages are only registered once the girl and boy are 18 years old or are not registered at all.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is limited information on child marriage in Czechia, but available studies show that it is largely driven by:

● Ethnicity: There is evidence of members of the Romani community in Czechia being married before the legal age of 18. A 2014 study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that around 2% of Roma girls aged 10-15 are traditionally married or cohabiting with a partner across 11 European Union member states, including Czechia. 16% of Roma boys and girls aged 16-17 are legally or traditionally married or cohabiting across the 11 states.

● Trafficking: According to Europol, some girls and young women from Czechia are victims of human trafficking within the European Union (predominantly being trafficked to Great Britain and Ireland) for the purpose of forced and fraudulent marriage. Trafficking for the purposes of forced marriage is a new form of trafficking.

Czechia has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government provided a 2021 Voluntary National Review but there was no mention of child marriage. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since 2021.

Czechia co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights, the 2017 resolution recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage, the 2021 resolution on child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2023 resolution on ending and preventing forced marriage. In 2014, Czechia also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Czechia co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Czechia deposited the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years.

However, according to the Family Law 2012 and the Civil Code the court may allow the marriage of a person aged 16-18 years in exceptional circumstances. The Act does not specify what is considered exceptional.

The Family Act and the Criminal Code do not criminalise child, early and forced marriages. Legally, consent is a fundamental component of a valid marriage, but a marriage is only considered “forced” if physical violence is used.