积极应对人口老龄化视角下的法定婚龄调整

The Adjustment of the Legal Age of Marriage from the Perspective of Actively Responding to Population Aging

作为法律按意思自治对待不加干预而交由当事人自主决定的最低年龄,法定婚龄反映多种法益的需要。我国法定婚龄是“晚婚晚育”政策的法律表达,其基于人口膨胀之事实,实质是通过延长婚育周期达到抑制生育、控制人口增长的目的。社会老龄化不仅意味着长寿化,更意味着少子化。积极应对人口老龄化,应通过变革婚育制度刺激生育,以改变失衡的人口结构。为此,应修改法定婚龄制度,降低允结婚年龄。法定婚龄的确定,应结合老龄化进程、历史传统、行为能力制度、教育制度与学制、民众接受程度等诸多因素综合考量。

As the minimum age at which the law no longer interferes with the autonomy of will and let parties involved to make their own decisions,the legal age of marriage reflects the needs for a variety of legal interests.The legal age of marriage in China is the legal expression of the policy of"late marriage and late childbirth",which is based on the fact of population expansion,and in essence to curb birth and control population growth by extending the marriage and childbirth cycle.The aging of society means not onlylonger lifespans,but also fewer births.To actively respond to the aging of the population,we should stimulate fertility by reforming the marriage and childbirth system,so as to change the unbalanced population structure.For this reason,the system on legal age of marriage should be revised to lower the age qualified for marriage.The the legal age of marriage should be determined by comprehensive consideration of many factors such as the aging process,historical traditions,capacity system,education system and schooling system,and public acceptance.