US embassy cable - 05SANTODOMINGO1834

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001834 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/IWI (KHADIAGALA), WHA/CAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: CHILD MARRIAGE -- CORRECTED 
VERSION 
 
REF: STATE 36341 
 
1. The following is Embassy Santo Domingo's response to 
reftel. 
 
A. According to the Dominican Civil Code and associated 
legislation, both boys and girls can marry freely at the age 
of 18.  Boys can marry at age 16 and and girls can marry at 
age 15 with the consent of the child's parents, surviving 
parent, or guardian.  Boys under the age of 16 and girls 
under the age of 15 cannot marry, except that adolescents 
(children who have reached the age of 13) may marry with the 
permission of a judge from the Tribunal of Children and 
Adolescents . In practice, very few children solicit 
permission to marry from a judge, although no official 
statistics are available. 
 
B. There are no statistics on underage marriage in the 
Dominican Republic.  The National Council for Adolescents and 
Children (CONANI) believes that a small number of underaged 
children may live with partners in rural areas (most likely 
with the consent of their parents), but they are prohibited 
from marrying because they cannot meet the legal 
requirements. 
 
C. There are no U.S.-funded initiatives in the Dominican 
Republic to address child marriage. 
HERTELL