Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 5 /Trend, K.Zarbaliyeva/
The Baku Wedding Palace does not support the proposed amendments to Azerbaijani legislation that would make signing a marriage contract compulsory.
These kinds of amendments will not have any positive results, Baku Wedding Palace Director Hagigat Salimova told Trend today.
"I do not support a forced marriage contract," he said. "Our mentality does not tolerate such things. It is necessary to increase education to improve the interest of citizens in signing a marriage contract. The public must be educated about the positive aspects of such a contract."
The State Committee for Family, Women and Children proposed amending the legislation to make signing a marriage contract obligatory.
Although the family code provides for concluding a marriage contract, it is not yet obligatory.
MPs supporting the amendment think that the provision in the current family code does not work because signing the contract has not been made mandatory.
A marriage contract is an agreement between couples getting married and defines the spouses' property rights and obligations during marriage or upon divorce. A marriage contract is prepared in writing and approved by attorneys. A marriage contract also defines the rights and responsibilities for both parties' mutual maintenance, the sharing of household expenditure and each other's income and it determines the rights for the division of property between the parties in a divorce settlement. Marriage contracts apply to spouses' existing and future properties. The contract can be signed before or after the marriage; it enters into force when the parties enter into marriage. The contract defines the legal organization of the property.
The director added that youths must agree on the terms of the marriage contract and clarify their responsibilities before marriage.
She added that, in practice, a marriage contract is very rarely concluded. Despite provisions for a marriage contract in the family code, citizens are not interested in signing any such document.
"Even when getting married to foreigners, our girls are not interested in signing a marriage contract," she said. "They are so happy that they do not want to think about this issue. Their main goal is to go abroad and live there. They think that their future spouse will decide not ot marry them if they ask to sign a marriage contract."
The director stressed that citizens are wrongly informed about marriage contracts and what they actually do. She said that the contracts do more than reflect a division of property.
"In fact, the contract reflects the rights and responsibilities of spouses," she said. "A marriage contract is a civil way of divorcing. When divorcing, the husband and wife should not be enemies. Divorcing parents should not use their children to achieve their goals. A marriage contract regulates these issues."
She added that during divorces most civilian courts handling family matters face property disputes. She said courts will have fewer cases if marriage contracts are signed more regularly.
Meanwhile, the director said the Civil Registry should not be the sole institution responsible for educating Azerbaijanis about marriage contracts.
She said the issue is outside the registry's jurisdiction. When young people are recommendd to sign a marriage contract by the registry, they take the suggestion very harshly.
"The registry should not have to educate youths about marriage contracts," she said. "We do not have this authority. Too much is required from the registry. When we give a piece of advice to young people on this issue, they answer very sharply - 'Maybe you are interested in signing this kind of contract? Why do you make us conclude a marriage contract?' People who act this way are making a mistake. But they wrongly think that we are creating problems for their families."