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This page contains discussions regarding Age of Consent (AoC) laws in Europe and is a subpage of Age Of Consent .
''Note: Unless specified otherwise, the law of the European nations below makes no distinction between heterosexual and homosexual sexual activites.'' ANDORRA The age of consent in Andorra is '''16'' as specified by the Andorran Criminal Code, Article 206, which reads: "''Whoever, without violence or intimidation, has had a carnal relationship with a minor older than fourteen years and less than sixteen years will be punished by a maximum penalty of imprisonment of six years.''" Andorran Criminal Code AUSTRIA The age of consent in Austria is 14, as specified by the Austrian Criminal Code, Sections 206 and 207. Austrian Criminal Code (in German) History The Austrian Criminal Code previously specified an age of consent of 18 for homosexual sex where the other partner was between 14 and 18, while no equivalent provision existed for heterosexual sex. Section 209 of the Criminal Code provided, "''A man over 19 years of age who engages in same-sex lewdness with a person who has attained the age of 14 but not yet the age of 18 shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years''". In November 1996 an amendment was put before the Austrian Parliament which would have removed Section 209, however the vote ended in a draw and the amendment failed to pass. On 17th July 1998, a similar amendment was put before the Austrian Parliament, however this time it was voted down by the conservative majority. On 24th June 2002, The Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that Section 209 was unconstitutional. It was later repealed on 14th August 2002. Further on 9th January 2003 the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the case of ''L & V'' v ''Austria'' it held Section 209 to be in violation of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, even though by this time it had been repealed. BELGIUM The age of consent in Belgium is 16, as specified by the Belgian Criminal Code, Article 372, which reads: "''All indecent assaults on modesty committed without violence or threat, by a person or by aiding the person, of a child of either sex, aged less than sixteen, will be punished by imprisonment (of five years to ten years).''" Belgian Criminal Code (in French) History The Belgian Criminal Code previously specified an age of consent of 18 for homosexual sex. This provision - Article 372(2) - was repealed in 1985. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA The age of consent in Bosnia-Herzegovina is 14, though this is not expressly stated in legislation. The Bosnia-Herzegovinan Criminal Code, Article 207 (Sexual Intercourse with a Child) reads: "''Whoever performs sexual intercourse or equivalent sexual act on a child, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term between one and eight years''". Article 2(8) reads "''A child, as referred to in this Code, is a person who has not reached fourteen years of age''". From this, an age of consent of 14 is implied. BULGARIA The age of consent in Bulgaria is 14, as specified by the Bulgarian Criminal Code. Bulgarian Criminal Code CROATIA The age of consent in Croatia is 14, as specified by the Croatian Criminal Code. CYPRUS The age of consent in Cyprus varies depending on the age and sex of the participants, as well as the acts performed, since whereas an age of consent is specified in the Cypriot Criminal Code for "carnal knowledge" ("synousia"), the term is traditionally understood as encompassing only penetration of the anus or vagina by the penis, and other kinds of sexual acts have no such age of consent. The relevant provision is Section 174, which reads: "''Any person who has, or attempts to have, with or without violence, carnal knowledge of a child under thirteen years of age against the order of nature is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.''" The age of consent is therefore:
Relevants parts of the Cypriot Criminal Code History Until 1998, homosexual acts between men were entirely forbidden under Section 171 of the Cypriot Criminal Code, which had been enacted in 1929. Section 171 read: "''Any person who (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature, or (b) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him against the order of nature is guilty of a felony is liable to imprisonment for five years.''" Under Section 173, anyone who attempted to commit such an offence was liable to three years' imprisonment. In 1989, Alecos Modinos, president of the Cypriot Gay Liberation Movement, brought a case to the European Court of Human Rights. In 1993, the Court held that the prohibition of homosexual acts was a violation of Article 8. In January 1995, the Cypriot Government introduced a Bill in the Cypriot Parliament which would have abolished the ban. Strong opposition from the Church meant the Bill stalled when referred to the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. The European Commission repeated its warning that Cyprus must follow the Court's reading. In May 1997, again, a government measure to repeal the ban failed because of the strength of the opposition. In April 1998, the Council of Europe set a deadline for compliance of 29th May 1998 and on May 21st of that year, the House of Representatives finally voted by 36 to 8 in favour of the bill legalising homosexual acts. Nevertheless, the age of consent for male homosexual acts was placed at 18, whereas the age of consent for heterosexual acts remained 16. In 2002, under strong pressure from the EU - to which Cyprus was acceding in 2004 - the Cypriot Government finally ended the discriminatory provisions and changed the age of consent at 17 for both heterosexual and homosexual acts. CZECH REPUBLIC The age of consent in the Czech Republic is 15, as specified by the Czech Penal Code, Section 242, which reads: "''A person who has sexual intercourse with a child under fifteen (15) years of age or who sexually abuses such a person by other way shall be sentenced to imprisonment for at least one and at most eight years.''" History Until 1961, homosexual acts were illegal. The new Penal Code, introduced in that year, decriminalised homosexual acts but specified an age of consent for such acts of 18. In 1990, this, and other discrepancies, were removed and the age of consent was reduced to 15, in line with heterosexual acts. DENMARK The age of consent in Denmark is 15, as specified by the Danish Criminal Code, Section 222, which reads: "''Any person who has sexual intercourse with any child under the age of fifteen (15) shall be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding eight (8) years.''" Danish Criminal Code (in Danish) History Male homosexual acts were legalised in Denmark after a major reform of the Penal Code in 1930, however the age of consent remained higher for heterosexual acts. In 1976, the age of consent was equalised at 15 for all acts. ESTONIA The age of consent in Estonia is 14, as specified by the Estonian Criminal Code §145 (Sexual intercourse with a child) which reads: "''An adult person who engages in sexual intercourse with a person of less than 14 years of age shall be punished by up to 3 years’ imprisonment.''" Estonian Criminal Code History Until 1992, male homosexual sex was illegal, the Estonian Penal Code, Article 118, forbidding "anal intercourse between men". In that year, the age of consent for male homosexual intercourse was fixed at 16, whereas the age for heterosexual intercourse was 14. The age of consent was not equalised until 2001 when the law was amended, specifying an age of 14 for sexual intercourse. FINLAND The age of consent in Finland is 16, as specified by the Finnish Penal Code, Chapter 20 (Sex offences), Section 6 (Sexual abuse of a child), which reads: "''(1) A person who (1) has sexual intercourse with a child younger than sixteen years of age, (2) by touching or otherwise performs a sexual act to a child younger than sixteen years of age, said act being conducive to impairing his/her development, (2) or gets him/her to perform an act referred to in subparagraph (2), shall be sentenced for sexual abuse of a child to imprisonment for at most four years.''" Finnish Penal Code History Until 1971, homosexual acts were prohibited. After decriminalisation, the age of consent was set at 18 for homosexual acts, and 16 for heterosexual acts, under Chapter 20, Section 5, of the Finnish Penal Code. In 1998, the age of consent was equalised at 16 for all sexual acts; although the Finnish Government had proposed an age of consent of 15, the Parliament chose an age of consent of 16 instead. FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA The age of consent in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is not entirely clear. The Criminal Code, Article 188, reads: "''A person who commits statutory rape or some other sexual act upon a child shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to five years.'' but "child" is not defined. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian Criminal Code FRANCE The age of consent in France is 15, as specified by the French Penal Code, Article 227-25, which reads: "''The commission without violence, constraint, threat or surprise of a sexual offence by an adult on the person of a minor under fifteen years of age is punished by five years' imprisonment and a fine of €75,000.''" French Penal Code History Male homosexual acts were illegal until 1791 when the ancient sodomy laws were dropped from the Criminal Code of that year. And this continued to be the case under the Napoleonic Code of 1810. In 1942, an age of consent for homosexual acts was set at 21, as opposed to the heterosexual equivalent of 13. The latter was increased to 15 in 1945. In 1978, the age of consent for homosexual acts was lowered to 18, and later, in 1981, it was further lowered to 15, in line with heterosexual acts. GERMANY The age of consent in Germany is 14, as specified by the German Criminal Code, Section 176 (Sexual abuse of children), which reads: "''(1) Whoever commits sex acts on a person under fourteen (14) years of age (a child) or whoever permits to do the same to him, shall be punished by imprisonment from six months to ten years or, in less serious cases, by up to five years imprisonment or by fine.''" German Criminal Code GREECE The age of consent in Greece is 15 as specified by the Greek Criminal Code, Section 339, which reads: "''1) One who commits an indecent act with a person under fifteen (15) years of age, or causes this person to commit or undergo such an act through deception, is punished as follows: a) if the victim is under ten (10) years of age, with at least ten years’ confinement. b) if the victim has completed ten (10) years of age, but is under thirteen (13) years of age, with confinement of up to ten years. c) if the victim has completed thirteen (13) years of age, with imprisonment.''" History Male homosexual acts were legalised in Greece in 1951. Until 1987, the age of consent was 16 for heterosexual and lesbian acts, and 17 for homosexual acts. In that year, the age of consent was lowered to 15 for all sexual acts. HUNGARY The age of consent in Hungary is 14 as specified by the Hungarian Criminal Code, Section 201 (Seduction), which reads: "''The person who has sexual intercourse with a person who has not yet completed his 14th year, as well as the person who has completed his 18th year and engages in fornication with a person who has not yet exceeded his 14th year of age, commits a felony and shall be punishable with imprisonment from 1 to 5 years.''" Hungarian Criminal Code (in Hungarian) History Until 1961, homosexual acts were illegal. After decriminilisation in 1961, the age of consent for homosexual acts was 20 and remained so until 1978. From then until 199, the age of consent for such acts was 18, as specified by the Hungarian Criminal Code, Section 199. In 2002, the Hungarian Constitutional Court repealed Section 199 and the age of consent for homosexual acts was lowered to 14 in line with heterosexual acts. ICELAND The age of consent in Iceland is 14, as specified by the Icelandic Penal Code §202, which reads: "Anyone who has carnal intercourse or other sexual intimacy with a child younger than 14 years shall be subject to imprisonment for up to 12 years.''" Icelandic Penal Code IRELAND, REPUBLIC OF The age of consent in Ireland depends on the age and sex of the participants, as well as the acts performed. The age of consent is therefore:
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 1935 Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 ITALY The age of consent in Italy depends on the ages of the particpants. Sexual acts are only pubishable when one of the parties is under 14, as specified by the Italian Penal Code, Article 609 Italian Penal Code (in Italian) LATVIA The age of consent in Latvia is 14 if the other person is under 18, and '''16''' if the other person is 18 or over, as specified by the Latvian Criminal Law, Section 161 (Sexual Intercourse, Pederasty and Lesbianism with a Person who has not Attained the Age of Sixteen Years), which reads: "''For a person who commits an act of sexual intercourse, or pederastic, lesbian or other unnatural sexual acts of gratification, with a person who has not attained the age of sixteen years and who is in financial or other dependence on the offender, or if such offence has been committed by a person who has attained the age of majority, the applicable sentence is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding four years.''" Latvian Criminal law History Until 1992, male homosexual acts were illegal under Section 124.1 of the Latvian Criminal Code. This provision was repealed by the Latvian Parliament in 1992 and the age of consent for male homosexual acts was set at 18. In 1998, the Latvian Parliament adopted a new Criminal Code which contained a complex system of sexual offences: the age of consent for all sexual acts other than vaginal intercourse was 14; for vaginal intercourse it was 14 if the other person was under 18, and 16 if the other person was over 18. In 2001, the law was amended to clarify the situation and confirm that the age of consent was 14 (or 16 if the person was older than 18) for all acts. LITHUANIA The age of consent in Lithuania is 14, as specified by the Lithuanian Criminal Code §142. Lithuanian Criminal Code (in Lithuanian) History Until 1993, male homosexual acts were prohibited under the Lithuanian Penal Code, Article 1221, which was repealed in that year. The new law set an age of consent of 18 for male oral and anal intercourse, 16 for other male homosexual acts, and 14 for lesbian and heterosexual acts. In 2004, the law was amended to equalise the age of consent at 14 for all sexual acts. LUXEMBOURG The age of consent in Luxemboug is 16, as specified by the Luxembourgish Penal Code, Article 372, which reads: "''All indecent assaults on modesty committed without violence or threat, by a person or by aiding the person, of a child of either sex, aged less than sixteen, will be punished by imprisonment of five to ten years"''. Luxembourgish Penal Code (in French) MALTA The age of consent in Malta is 12, as specified by the Maltese Criminal Code, Section 201 (Presumption of violence in cases of carnal knowledge and indecent assault), which reads: "''Unlawful carnal knowledge and any other indecent assault, shall be presumed to be accompanied with violence - ''(a) when it is committed on any person under twelve years of age;'' ''(b) when the person abused was unable to offer resistance owing to physical or mental infirmity, or for any other cause independent of the act of the offender, or in consequence of any fraudulent device used by the offender.''" Maltese Criminal Code History Until 1973, male homosexual acts ("unnatural carnal connection") was prohibited by the Maltese Criminal Code, Section 220. This was repealed in that year. NETHERLANDS The age of consent in the Netherlands is 16, as specified by the Dutch Criminal Code, Articles 245 and 247, which read: (Art 245) "''A person who, out of wedlock, with a person who has reached the age of twelve (12) but not yet sixteen (16), performs indecent acts comprising or including sexual penetration of the body is liable to a term of imprisonment of not more than eight years or a fine of the fifth category.''"; and (Art 247) "''A person who, with a person whom he knows to be unconscious or physically unable to resist or to be suffering from such a degree of mental defect or mental disease that he is incapable or not sufficiently capable of exercising or expressing his will in the matter or of offering resistance, performs indecent acts, or who, with a person who has not yet reached the age of sixteen (16) years, out of wedlock, performs indecent acts, or by whom the latter is enticed into performing, or submitting to such acts, out of wedlock, with a third party, is liable to a term of imprisonment of not more than six years or a fine of the fourth category.''" Dutch Criminal Code (in Dutch) NORWAY The age of consent in Norway is 16, as specified by the Norwegian General Civil Code §196 which reads: "''Any person who commits or is accessory to another person's committing an act of indecency with any person who is under 16 years of age shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.''" Norwegian General Civil Code POLAND The age of consent in Poland is 15, as specified by the Polish Criminal Code, Article 200, which reads: "''Whoever subjects a minor under 15 years of age to sexual intercourse or makes him/her submit to another sexual act or to perform such an act shall be subject to the penalty of the deprivation of liberty for a term of between 1 and 10 years.''" Polish Criminal Code History Until 1932, homosexual acts were illegal, however in that year an age of consent of 15 was established for all sexual acts, be they hetero- or homosexual. PORTUGAL The age of consent in Portugal varies depending on the acts performed; the age of consent is 14 for heterosexual acts, and '''16''' for homosexual acts, as specified by the Portuguese Criminal Code, Sections 172 and 175 respectively, the latter reading: "''Whoever being of the age of majority, practices homosexual acts with minors of 14-16 years of age or incites other persons to such acts can be punished by imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine.''" History Homosexual acts were legalised for the first time in Portugal in 1852, though they were recriminalised in 1912. They were decriminalised for the second time in 1945 and an age of consent was set at 16, as was the case with heterosexul acts. In 1995, a new Penal Code was introduced which lowered the age of consent for heterosexual acts to 14, but retained an age of consent of 16 for homosexual acts. ROMANIA The age of consent in Romania is 15, as specified by the Romanian Criminal Code, Article 218 (Sexual intercourse with a minor), which reads: "''Sexual intercourse, of any nature, with a person of the other sex or of the same sex, who has not reached the age of 15, shall be punished by strict imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and the prohibition of certain rights.''" Romanian Criminal Code RUSSIA See Age Of Consent In Asia SLOVAKIA The age of consent in Slovakia is 15, as specified by the Slovakian Criminal Code, Section 201. History Until 1961, homosexual acts were prohibited, however the new Criminal Code of that year decriminalised such behaviour. However, under Paragraph 244, the age of consent for homosexual acts was set at 18, whereas it remained 15 for heterosexual acts. In 1990, the Penal Code was amended to treat hetero- and homosexual acts equally; Paragraph 244 was repealed and the age of consent became 15 for all. SLOVENIA The age of consent in Slovenia is 14, as specified by the Slovenian Penal Code, Article 183, which reads: "''Whoever has sexual intercourse of performs any lewd act with a person of the same or opposite sex under the age of 14 years shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years.''" Slovenian Penal Code History Until 1959, male homosexual acts were prohibited, as was the case in all of former Yugoslavia. A new Penal Code was introduced in 1977 which decriminalised homosexual acts and all discriminatory provisions were removed. Since 1995, the age of consent has been set at 14 for all acts. SPAIN The age of consent in Spain is 13, as specified by the Spanish Penal Code, Articles 181(2) and 183. History Homosexual acts have been legal in Spain since 1822 (with the exception of the offence of “habitual homosexual acts" in the years 1928-32). A new Criminal Code was introduced in 1995 which specified an age of consent of 12 under Article 181f for all sexual acts; and this was raised to 13 a few years later. Spanish Penal Code SWEDEN The age of consent in Sweden is 15, as specified by the Swedish Penal Code, Chapter 6 (On Sexual Crimes). The age of fifteen is referred to several times, for example in Section 4, which reads: "''A person who has sexual intercourse with a child under fifteen years of age or who with such a child carries out another sexual act that, having regard to the nature of the violation and the circumstances in general, is comparable to sexual intercourse, shall be sentenced for rape of a child to imprisonment for at least two and at most six years.''" Swedish Criminal Code History Until 1944, homosexual acts were prohibited - and had been since 1864 - until they were decriminalised in that year, but with a higher age of consent (18) than for heterosexual acts (15). The age of consent was equalised at 15 for all sexual acts in 1978 and has remained so since. SWITZERLAND The age of consent in Switzerland is 16, as specified by the Swiss Federal Criminal Code, Article 187. Swiss Federal Criminal Code (in French, German and Italian) UKRAINE The age of consent in Ukraine is 16, as specified by the Ukrainian Criminal Code, Articles 155 and 156. Ukrainian Criminal Code THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND England and Wales The age of consent in England and Wales is 16, as specified by the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (for heterosexual acts) and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, Section 1 (for homosexual acts). Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 Sexual Offences Act (Amendment) Act 2000 History The age of consent for heterosexual acts was set at 12 in 1275 and remained so for six centuries. A concern that young girls were being sold into brothels led Parliament to raise the age of consent to 13 in 1875 under the Offences Against The Person Act 1875 . 10 years later, the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 further raised the age of consent to 16; and also criminalized male homosexual acts. It is common Folklore that an amendment which would have criminalised lesbian acts was rejected by Queen Victoria who refused to believe that some women did such things. However, it is more likely that those presenting the amendment excluded it (as did the House Of Lords 40 years later) on the ludicrous assumption that it would "give women ideas". Male homosexual acts were decriminalised under the Sexual Offences Act 1967 , Section 1, however the age of consent for such acts was set at 21, whereas the age of consent for heterosexual acts was 16, however the legislation only applied in England and Wales. In 1994, on the second reading of the Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994 , the Conservative MP, Edwina Currie , introduced an amendment which would have lowered the age of consent for such acts to 16, in line with heterosexual acts, however the amendment was defeated by 308 votes to 280. A compromise amendment which lowered the age of consent to 18 was, however, accepted by 427 votes to 162. (Also during the readings were motions to equalise the age of consent to 17 for all, to reintroduce an age of consent for homosexual acts to 21, and a further attempt to lower the age of consent to 16. All of these were rejected). In 1997, the European Court of Human Rights case of ''Sutherland'' v ''the United Kingdom'' held that a higher age of consent for homosexuals than for heterosexuals was a breach of Article 8 of the Convention. In response, the Government introduced the Crime and Disorder Bill which contained a provision lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16. Though accepted by the House of Commons, the provision was rejected by the House of Lords. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, introduced in 1998, contained a similar provision, but once again it was rejected by the House of Lords. The Bill was reintroduced in 2000 and, despite opposition from the House of Lords, was passed under the Parliament Act 1911 (which allows the House of Commons to overrule the House of Lords under certain circumstances). As the Scottish Parliament had been established prior to the reintroduction of the Bill, and the relevant legislation was a dissolved issue, the consent of that Parliament under the Sewel Convention was required - had that consent not been granted, the Scottish provisions would have had to be removed and it would not have been possible to use the Parliament Act. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 thus equalised the age of consent at 16 for all sexual acts (including, for the first time, lesbian acts). Scotland The age of consent in Scotland is 16, as specified by the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended). Sections 7 and 8 provide for specific offences of procuring, abduction and unlawful detention, for which the ages of consent are 18 and 21. Criminal Law (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 1995 History In Scotland most sexual offences are contained in the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 , which replaced the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976. For heterosexual acts the age of consent is 16, with increased penalties for offences involving girls under 13. Male homosexual acts were illegal in Scotland until 1980 when they were decriminalised by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 , Section 80, which specified an age of consent of 21. The Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 Act lowered the age of consent of 18 and this was further lowered to 16 by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 described above. Northern Ireland The age of consent in Northern Ireland is 17, as specified by various statutes.
Criminal Law Amendement Act 1885 Criminal Law Amendment (Northern Ireland) Act 1923 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 History Male homosexual acts were illegal in Northern Ireland until 1982, when they were decriminalised by the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982, which specified an age of consent of 21. The change was a result of the judgment in the European Court of Human Rights case of ''Dudgeon'' v ''United Kingdom'' (1981) in which the ECHR held that a prohibition on homosexual acts was a breach of Article 8 of the Convention. The age of consent was lowered to 17 for male homosexual acts - putting the age of consent in line with heterosexual acts - by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, Section 1. FURTHER READING
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