Countries: China
Variables: CLCC-LAW-2, CUST-LAW-2

"Childbirth out of wedlock is relatively rare in China, partly due to pervasive social stigma and cases of local authorities punishing women through fines or denying the child legal registration to access social benefits such as schooling and healthcare" (para 13).

Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Nicaraguan legislation provides for maternity protection through the Responsible Parenthood Act of 2007 (No. 623), which regulates a child’s right to have first and last names and to their prompt registration; a child’s right to the establishment of paternal or maternal filiation, or both; and the right to request the settlement of disputes over child maintenance and visits through administrative and judicial mechanisms that are efficient and free of charge." (11). "The Code provides for the establishment of the Office of the Special Advocate for Families, empowered to take part in family court proceedings, and of family courts to hear and expeditiously resolve matters regarding marriage, the dissolution of marriage...more

Countries: Nepal
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Section 4 (1), 4 (2), 4 (3), and 4 (4) of the Children Act, 1992, assign obligation of parents to take care of their children. Section 8 of the Act and Number 3 (4) of Chapter on Husband and Wife of the General Code provision to maintain contact of children with separated parents on dissolution of marriage. Likewise, number 3 of Chapter on Husband and Wife of General Code guarantees the first right of mother to provide guardianship to her child below 5 years of age after the dissolution of marriage. Number 3 (5) guarantees that separated parent who is not subsisting minor child should provide reasonable expenses for the...more

Countries: China
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Although under both civil law and marriage law the children of single women are entitled to the same rights as those born to married parents, in practice children born to single mothers or unmarried couples are considered 'outside of the policy' and subject to the social compensation fee and the denial of legal documents, such as birth documents and the hukou residence permit. Single women could avoid those penalties by marrying within 60 days of the baby’s birth" (67).

Countries: Egypt
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"'The unregistered marriages are not recognised by the state and afford no rights to the girl, or any children that result from these unions'" (para 19).

Countries: Lebanon
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Discriminatory rulings and laws also serve to undermine children’s rights. Judges remain unconstrained by any clear legal text on the best interest of the child, and in all cases, they have wide discretion to rule as they deem fit, guided only by the maternal custody age. The non-recognition of joint custody by religious courts in Lebanon, except for few Christian courts recent decisions where it is in a judge’s discretion to recognize it, further undermines the best interests of the child" (76). "The general principle across religious laws is that fathers have legal guardianship of children. While fathers, but not mothers, always maintain guardianship over their children, child residence is...more

Countries: Kazakhstan
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"The death of the husband does not result in a restriction of the parental rights of the children’s mother. A woman’s right to custody of her children is not lost in the event of marriage or divorce. Women have the same rights as men with regard to custody, guardianship and adoption" (42).

Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"And from last year mothers in Saudi Arabia can retain custody of their children after divorce without filing lawsuits. Previously, a Saudi woman was required to petition courts, sometimes for years, to win custody of children after a divorce. But in 2018 the Saudi Justice Ministry released a circular to the courts specifying that barring a dispute between the parents, a mother is required only to apply for custodianship" (para 13 - 14).

Countries: Japan
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"The law requires birth entries in the family registry to specify whether a child was born in or out of wedlock, but in 2013 the Supreme Court unanimously declared unconstitutional a civil code clause that denied full inheritance rights to children born out of wedlock" (16).

Countries: United States
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-3, CUST-LAW-2

"This whole legal mess is rooted in laws that were written more than half a century ago, experts say. Back then, society didn't legally acknowledge parental rights for children who were born to unmarried women -- 'or, to use an antiquated term, "born out of wedlock,"' said Multnomah County, Oregon, Circuit Court Judge Katherine Tennyson, president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. 'So traditionally, laws didn't take into account how was the child was conceived'"(para 27-28)

Countries: Venezuela
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Chapter V On social rights and families Art. 76 Maternity and paternity are integrally protected, regardless of the marital status of the mother or the father. Couples have the right to decide freely and responsibly on the amount of children they wish to have and to have access to the means and information that allow them to exercise this right. The state will guarantee the assistance and integral protection during maternity, in general since conception, throughout the pregnancy, the delivery and post-partum. It will ensure family planning services based on ethical and scientific values. The father and the mother have the shared and unrecognisable duty to raise, instruct, educate, support...more

Countries: Spain
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Written in 1978, last revised 2011. Spanish constitution, Third Chapter Of the reigning principles from social and economic policies, Art. 39. 2) The public powers also ensure the integral protection of children, they have the same rights before the law regardless of their filiation, and the marital status of their mothers. The law will enable investigations regarding paternity. 3) Parents should provide any kind of assistance necessary to their children, disregarding if they were born within or outsid of marriage, for as long as they are minors and in cases in which it is legally necessary" (8). NOTE: This is not addressed in the civil code, only in the constitution;...more

Countries: Peru
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Art.235 Parents are obligated to provide for the support, protection, education and upbringing of their children who are minors according to their situation and possibilities. All children have the same rights." This is translated from Spanish to English by CCR. (MLFD - CODER COMMENT)

Countries: Germany
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"The Court noted that it was not in dispute that the application of the relevant provisions of domestic law had created a situation in which a child born outside marriage before the cut-off date of 1 July 1949 was treated differently not only to children born within marriage but also to children born outside marriage both before – as concerned children covered by the law of the former GDR whose father had been resident in GDR territory at the time of reunification – and after that cut-off date. In the Court’s view, the arguments put forward for maintaining the provision in question were no longer valid today; like other European...more

Countries: Paraguay
Variables: CUST-LAW-2

"Art.256 Child support on the grounds of kinship comprehends an amount sufficient for survival, room and dress, as well as healthcare. If the person benefiting from child support is in an age where it is required to receive an education, this should also be covered by child support. Child support is granted through kinship not on the grounds of marital status" (24). This was translated from Spanish to English by CCR. (MLFD - CODER COMMENT)