CNA file photo

Taipei, June 14 (CNA) The Executive Yuan is considering making the minimum age at which same-sex couples can get engaged and marry 17 and 18 respectively, irrespective of gender, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday.

Although Taiwan's Civil Code currently has a different minimum age requirement for men and women in heterosexual unions, the Executive Yuan's proposed legal amendment would make the minimum engagement and marriage age the same for homosexual and heterosexual unions, Cabinet secretary general Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said during a meeting.

Currently, the Civil Code stipulates that the minimum age for engagement and marriage for men is 17 and 18, while it is 15 and 16 for women.

Wednesday's meeting was the second inter-ministerial meeting held to discuss issues related to the introduction of same-sex marriage laws, after Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage on May 24 and stated that the Civil Code provisions that do not ensure same-sex marriage rights are unconstitutional.

In addition to minimum engagement and marriage ages, officials also discussed marital property laws and prohibited degrees of kinship for same-sex couples.

Existing property laws that apply to heterosexual couples will be extended to include same-sex couples and both types of union will be prohibited from marrying within six degrees of consanguinity, Chen said.

(By Ku Chuan and Christie Chen)
ENDITEM/AW