While establishing a general law that allows marriage as of 18 years of age is positive, exceptions must be allowed in justifiable cases, in accordance to human rights standards. To better protect the rights of adolescents, a judicial mechanism that grants adolescents’ right to marry in certain cases is needed. Establishing a complete prohibition, while politically attractive, is ineffective for reaching its proposed objectives. The State has the obligation to find the ideal manner in which to protect youth, without undermining their autonomy. The absolute ban on marriage is neither an ideal, reasonable nor proportional measure to achieve the above.
