Persons under the age of 18 may no longer be married in Finland, as the ban on the practice of special exemption came into effect on Saturday. Only persons aged 18 years or older may now be married.
The Ministry of Justice has previously been able to confirm about 10-30 exemptions to the Marriage Act. The justification for the exemption in couples aged under 17 years has been pregnancy, the ministry said.
Banning the practice is based on safeguarding the rights of children, said the ministry.
The Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark have all banned underage marriages in recent years. The National Church Council has long said that legislation should be used to prevent child marriages and overturn the exemption rule.