15. According to article 20 of the Compulsory School Attendance Act (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 1960), parents or guardians have the obligation to have children between the ages of 7 and 12 years attend primary school on a regular basis, if the possibility for this exists.

118. There has been a Compulsory School Attendance Act in Suriname since 1870. The law itself does not make school attendance actually compulsory, but it does state that children between 7 and 12 years of age must be provided with the possibility to enjoy education.

157. The Labour Act (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees No. 163, as amended by Bulletin 1983, No. 91) defines labour as all work in a business, with the exception of work performed by the head or manager of the business or his spouse and blood relatives in the first degree. The Act distinguishes between youthful persons and children. "Youthful persons" are defined as minors who are between the ages of 14 and 18 years; "children" are persons who have not yet reached the age of 14 years. Article 17 of the Labour Act prohibits the performance of labour by children inside or outside any business, irrespective of whether this takes place against wages or not. Violation of this provision can be punished with imprisonment of no more than one month or a fine of no more than Sf. 1,000. In cases in which the work has an educational nature, is not too heavy and does not have any commercial purposes, the child is permitted to perform labour outside a business. Dispensation can be given by or on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, if this is in the interest of the child and at the request of the responsible person in the family.

14. […] In the law of Suriname, a distinction is made between a marriage according to civil law and one contracted under the Asian Marriage Act. In order to enter into a civil marriage, the male partner must be at least 18 years of age and the female partner at least 15 years of age. According to the Asian Marriage Act, the age limit for the male partner is 15 years and for the female partner 13 years. Parental consent is required for both male and female partners up to the age of 30 years to enter into marriage according to civil law. […]

18. A child who has committed a criminal offence before he has become 10 years of age shall not be prosecuted (art. 56, para. 1, of the Code of Criminal Procedure). […]