Civil Status Law

Yemen’s Civil Status Law is the governing legal framework for establishing and maintaining civil rights/registries, ensuring adequate systemized documentation for Yemeni citizens. The law was adopted in 1991 and was subsequently amended in 2003.

The law has direct relevance to the ‘Children and Armed Conflict’ (CAAC) agenda, since  age verification/documentation is a cornerstone in civil registration and can aid in preventing children from being mistaken as adults, a key issue in preventing the recruitment and use of children. Moreover, the overarching goal of civil registry is to preserve rights, and prevent people from a “stateless” status, a critical issue for CAAC, given that in conflict, displacement and separation from caregivers is prevalent. In some cases, civil registry provisions can aid children in reuniting with their families/caregivers.

This law is composed of approximately 50 articles divided into 10 chapters with the following themes:

1- Key terminologies and registry administration (Chapters 1, 2, 3): Outlines the key terms (civilian, registry, family, citizen, etc.) and details the procedures of the civil registry system in Yemen.

2- Personal status (Chapters 4, 5, 6): Details vital events in a citizen’s life (such as birth, death, marriage, and divorce) that impact the person’s civil status records.

3- Record management and documentation (Chapter 7, 8, 9): Outlines the process of modifying or correcting civil records and the entities in charge of managing registration, in addition to required documentations to issue.

4- Provisions and penalties (Chapter 10): Lays out provisions relevant to non-compliance with the civil status regulation or potential fraud.

In terms of implementation, the civil registration structure was impacted with the conflict that escalated in 2015, which has made issuing official documentation challenging for many citizens, mainly due to access constraints in hard-to-reach areas. The high number of internally displaced persons has made it an increasing challenge to document and track civilians, as many of them have suffered the loss or destruction of their documents.