below 16 years just like in the Constitution. This was in contrast with the proposal made by the Law Commission to define a child per ACRWC. 24. The Law Commission also reviewed the Penal Code and produced its findings in 2000. The Commission recommended that the age of criminal responsibility should be raised from 7 years to 10 years. The proposal was considered by the National Assembly and enacted into law in 2010. 25. There are several legislative and non-legislative regimes governing marriage in Malawi. The Constitution remains unclear on the precise minimum age of marriage. The Constitution Amendment Act of 2010 has possibly brought light to this unsettled matter by providing unlike its predecessor, that the State shall “actively” discourage marriage between persons where either of them is under the age of 15 years. Previously, the Constitution used the word “actually”. While this proposal is commendable and justifies State action in this regard, it still falls short of an outright prohibition. Under the Constitution, it still remains legal to enter into marriage at the attainment of the age between 15 and 18 years as long as consent of parents or guardians is obtained. 26. The proposed Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill raises the minimum age for marriage to 18 years. This recommendation has not been enacted into legislation and is likely to create a conflict between a marriage that is constitutionally compliant (because one or both parties are above the age of 15 years) and a law that nullifies that marriage as illegal. 27. Already under the current provisions of the Constitution, it is anomalous that a person who is capable of contracting a marriage under section 22 of the Constitution is defined as a child under section 23. A proposal to rectify this anomaly was defeated in 2010 when the President refused to assent into law the provision which raised the age of marriage from 15 years to 16 years undersection 22. 28. The Penal Code Amendment Act complements the provisions of section 23 of the Constitution by raising the age of sexual debut from 13 years to 16 years. Any person having carnal knowledge of a girl below the age of 16 years commits the offence of “Defilement” and is liable to life imprisonment. Technically, this means that there is need for an exemption under section 22 of the Constitution prohibiting prosecution of a person who has sexual 9|Page