Striking the balance between cultural diversity and human rights : early marriage as a case-study for testing the fairness of (private) international law

Abstract

Striking the balance between the protection of cultural diversity - including the protection of custom - and human rights in the field of family relations – where several harmful traditional practices occur - is extremely complex. This difficulty deserves to be examined in the framework of the debate between universalism and relativism of human rights. To this aim, early marriage can be referred to as a case-study. Domestic laws show a variety of approaches in this regard, in terms of prohibition, exceptions and recognition of early marriages celebrated abroad. The aim of this paper is to analyze these laws, as to assess if and how international law – and especially private international law – is fair.