Concluding Observation Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
62
Full recommendation
With reference to paragraph 27 of the present document, the Committee urges the State party to
revise its Civil Code and all other relevant legislation to ensure equal rights of girls in family
relations and provide girls with the right to inheritance on equal terms with boys. Furthermore,
the Committee recommends that the State party consider ratifying the Hague Convention of 23
November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family
Maintenance, the Hague Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance
Obligations, and the Hague Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law,
Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures
for the Protection of Children.
Assessment using Impact Iran indicators1
A. Family relations
According to Article 906 of Iran’s Civil Code of 1969, women have the right to inherit half as
much as men from their deceased parents. There has been no progress on changing this law
and the situation of inequality in terms of inheritance distribution still stands.
Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law yet the minimum age of marriage is
different based on gender. The legal minimum age for marriage is 13 for girls and 15 for boys.2
However, children who have reached puberty can marry with parental consent and court
approval.3 The predefined age of puberty under the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the age of legal
majority, is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys.4 Marriage before puberty is
criminalized in accordance with Article 50 of the Family Protection Act5 and is punished under
Article 646 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013).6
In 2018, a proposed amendment to Article 1041 of the Civil Code that would raise the age of
marriage for girls from 13 to 16 while allowing earlier marriage with legal and medical approval,
was rejected by the Parliament’s Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs.7 In February 2019,
the chair of the Committee stated that a “new plan” would be introduced for the approval of
1
CCPR.3.S.1; CCPR.3.P.1; CCPR.26.P.1; CRC.19.1.S.1; CRC.19.1.P.1; CRC.19.1.O.1
Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint Submission to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016
3
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
4
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 27–28
5
Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/43/12
6
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
7
Amnesty International, UPR submission 2019
2