The Ties that Bind: Child Marriage Laws and Immigration in Sweden

• In Event: Sociology of Law Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Sociology of Law Section Roundtables: Table 3 — Gender, Sexuality, and Legal Categories

Abstract

In this paper I trace the evolution of child marriage laws in Sweden and its linkages with immigration. I initially intended to cover legal texts, legal review articles, human rights reports, and parliamentary texts. However, I decided to also include additional parliamentary documents, such as state public investigation reports (statens offentliga utredningar) and parliamentary motions (Motion till riksdagen) to incorporate political context as well. Providing this background juxtaposes the official legal reasoning of judicial bodies against a socio-political climate that, at times, seems contradictory. Furthermore, this additional context helps to illuminate the conflicts and contradictions between relevant areas of law, specifically family law, migration law, and human rights law. First, I briefly review private international law as it relates to child marriage beginning in 2004, with subsequent amendments in 2014 and 2018. Then, I briefly review two important cases that were occurring against the backdrop of the European refugee crisis and child marriage policy debates. I then conclude with a discussion on the significance of immigration to Sweden’s laws on child marriage and how a sociological lens may help us understand legal developments on child marriage.

Author

• Jasmine Underwood, University of Georgia