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Source: Initial report: CRC/C/3/Add.63, 26 July 2001
 
Minimum age for the end of compulsory education
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Minimum age for admission to employment
251. In Guinea-Bissau, children are victims of economic exploitation and are subject to hard work, which is incompatible with their age and physical condition. However, the Government is unable to put a stop to this phenomenon through the application of administrative measures, due to the serious economic and social condition of the country. Law No. 2/86 (General Labour Law), which prohibits children under 14 from working, is not applicable to the current reality.
 
Minimum age for marriage
143. Article 1577 of the Civil Code defines marriage as a contract signed by two people of different genders who want to form a family legally through a full communion of life. It also establishes, as a general rule, the age of 16 for boys and 14 for girls as the minimum age allowed for marriage, and always subject to the consent of the parents, tutors and/or educators. When these procedures are not followed, the betrothed minor can oppose the marriage according to civil registration laws, which means that the marriage can only be celebrated once the court for minors has decided that it is legal.
144. […] The Penal Code […] establishes the age of 18 as the legal age for marriage.
145. In this matter, we cannot talk only about the written legislation, because the social life of Guineans is ruled by the customary law, which does not always conform to the written legislation. Premature and compulsory marriages are current practices accepted by customary law.
 
Minimum age for criminal responsibility
136. The Penal Code in force in the country stipulates in its article 10, together with article 12, that any individual is subject to criminal prosecution when he reaches 16 years of age. It also stipulates that punishment, depending on the type of violation, is specially mitigated in cases of delinquent people aged more than 16 and less than 20 years.
 
Source: Initial report: CRC/C/3/Add.63, 26 July 2001