The Age of Majority in International Human Rights Law and Pakistan’s Legal Obligations: An Overview

Abstract

This work discusses international human rights protection mechanisms; how Pakistan is also under an obligation to fulfill international human rights standards, with the main focus on Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989 and more specifically its Article 1 which is about the legal status of child; what is the age of marriage as per international law; how has Pakistan applied the same as a state party to the CRC; and whether the state can legislate upon the matter with the aim of fulfilling its obligations stipulated under the CRC? The main findings of this work are:  that Pakistan is a state party to the CRC, that our progress before and after the CRC has not changed much and is not sufficient for complying with our obligations; and that the state should legislate a uniform law for the age of marriage so as to fulfill our obligations under the CRC and that there is no bar under the Shari‘ah from doing so.