Family
Personal Status Law 1992, amended to remove a minimum marriage age
The Personal Status Law of 1992 governs marriage, divorce and custody on a sharia basis. A 1999 amendment removed the statutory minimum marriage age.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Personal status divisions of the Courts of First Instance.
- Deadline — 30 days to appeal a personal status judgment where courts function
Governing law
- Personal Status Law, Law 20 of 1992
- Law 24 of 1999 amending the Personal Status Law
In practice
The 1999 amendment removed the minimum marriage age of fifteen that the 1992 law had set, leaving no statutory floor, and repeated legislative attempts to restore one have failed. This is the single most consequential feature of Yemeni family law and child marriage rates are among the highest recorded. Guardianship rests with the father, polygyny is permitted, and unilateral divorce by the husband is available while a wife's route to dissolution is narrower. Inheritance follows fixed sharia shares. Displacement caused by the conflict has made registration and proof of marriage and parentage a widespread practical problem.