The Supreme People's Court issued a judicial interpretation of disputes involving bride price, clarifying the adjudication rules and returning bride price to "ceremony"
□ Our reporter Zhang Hao
In recent years, the amount of betrothal gifts in many places has continued to rise, creating a trend of comparison.
At the same time, betrothal gifts that exceed normal family expenses have become a heavy burden for many families. When the age of marriage is relatively short, the interests of both parties are unbalanced and disputes over betrothal gifts increase.
On January 18, the "Regulations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases involving Betrothal Disputes" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were released.
The "Regulations" clarify how to deal with bride price disputes in situations such as extorting property through marriage, "escaping" after marriage, and whether the parents of both parties to the marriage contract can be parties to the lawsuit.
What are the considerations behind these rules?
Under what circumstances does a judge need to properly balance the interests of both parties regarding the specific circumstances of living together?
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" interviewed the relevant person in charge of the First Civil Court of the Supreme People's Court.
Responding to Difficult Issues in Judicial Practice
Interpretation (1) of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code stipulates three situations in which the bride price can be returned.
In recent years, what new situations have emerged in cases involving bride price?
What difficulties in practice do the Regulations solve?
The person in charge said that there are two new characteristics in cases involving bride price. One is that both parties have already registered their marriage and are living together, but the time they have lived together is short.
The second is that the parties only hold a wedding in accordance with local customs, that is, live together but do not register the marriage. In these two cases, the above judicial interpretation cannot be applied. Whether the bride price should be returned and how to determine the return ratio have become difficulties in trial practice.
"The "Regulations" regulate the key and difficult issues existing in judicial practice such as the scope of determination of betrothal gifts, the principle of return of betrothal gifts, and the qualifications of litigation subjects. It is combined with the Interpretation (1) of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code to form a logically complete set of legal application rules for betrothal gift disputes. "The person in charge said.
By clarifying the adjudication rules, the "Regulations" can provide relevant parties with behavioral guidance, help guide the people to view the issue of betrothal gifts more rationally, and return betrothal gifts to the essence of "ceremony".
Reiterating the prohibition on extorting property through marriage
Article 1042 of the Civil Code stipulates that it is prohibited to obtain property through marriage, and the "Regulations" reiterate that it is prohibited to obtain property through marriage.
The reporter noticed that the "Regulations" clearly stated that if property is obtained through marriage in the name of betrothal gift, and the other party requests return, the people's court should support it.
"Extorting property through marriage violates the principle of freedom of marriage and should be resolutely cracked down on," the person in charge said.
During the process of the Supreme People's Court soliciting public opinions on the "Regulations", some opinions suggested that "the specific form of extorting property through marriage should be clarified."
The person in charge responded that the boundary between asking for property through marriage and dowry cannot simply be based on the willingness to get married.
Because, in some cases, even if the parties have the intention to get married, they may take the opportunity to demand property, and the intention to get married, as a subjective factor, also needs to be proved by objective facts in litigation. In practice, it is difficult for the parties to provide evidence to prove it.
Some opinions suggested that “anyone who accepts betrothal gifts and then absconds with the money, or who repeatedly receives high betrothal gifts in the name of entering into a marriage and then regrets the marriage without justifiable reasons within a short period of time, should be deemed to have used the marriage to obtain property.”
In this regard, the person in charge said that if there is evidence to prove that the above situation exists and one party requests the other party to return it in accordance with Article 2 of the "Regulations", the People's Court should support it.
"If the situation is serious and even suspected of a criminal offense, the people's court should resolutely crack down."
When identifying betrothal gifts, how to distinguish between betrothal gifts and general gifts during a relationship?
The reporter noticed that the "Regulations" clearly stated that when determining whether a certain payment is a betrothal gift, one party can comprehensively consider the local customs of both parties, the time and method of payment, the value of the property, the payer and the recipient and other facts based on the purpose of the payment of property. identified.
"Compared with general gifts during love, although the purposes and motives of the parties involved are similar, the payment of bride price is generally based on local customs and habits, and the direct purpose is to conclude a marriage relationship, which has a relatively specific scope of extension." The person in charge said said the introduction.
At the same time, the "Regulations" clarify several categories of property that do not belong to betrothal gifts in the form of reverse exclusion, including gifts and gifts of small value given by one party on special commemorative occasions such as festivals or birthdays, where one party expresses or enhances feelings. daily consumer expenditures, etc.
Better protect women’s legitimate rights and interests
The reporter noticed that in response to the two new situations that emerged in cases involving bride price, the "Regulations" stipulated in two articles to properly balance the interests of both parties.
What considerations does the Supreme Court have in this regard?
"In the first case, the two parties have gone through the marriage registration procedures and are living together. When divorcing, if one party requests the return of the bride price paid according to customs, the people's court generally should not support it. However, it should also be noted that the purpose of paying the bride price is not only In addition to the legal formal requirement of marriage registration, what is more important is that both parties live together for a long time. Therefore, the length of living together should be an important consideration in determining whether the bride price is returned and the proportion of return." The person in charge said.
In the case of "escape", if the relevant claims for the return of the bride price are not supported at all, especially the high-value bride price paid by the whole family, it will obviously imbalance the interests of both parties, and the judiciary should make appropriate adjustments, based on the actual situation of the bride price. Use and dowry conditions, comprehensively consider the amount of the betrothal gift, living and pregnancy conditions together, faults of both parties, etc., to determine whether to return it and the specific proportion of the return.
"In the second case, if both parties have not registered their marriage, in principle the bride price should be returned. But the 'facts of husband and wife' living together should not be ignored," the person in charge said.
On the one hand, the fact of living together carries the important purpose of paying the bride price; on the other hand, it will have a certain impact on the physical and mental health of women, especially if they have experienced pregnancy or given birth to children.
If the party who received the bride price is required to return all the bride price just because the marriage has not been registered, it violates the principle of fairness and is not conducive to the protection of women's legitimate rights and interests. The actual use of the bride price and the dowry situation should be based on the actual use of the bride price and the dowry situation, and comprehensive consideration should be given to the joint life and pregnancy, the faults of both parties, and other facts. Determine whether to refund and the specific proportion of refund.
Why can't it be clarified how long we can live together without returning the bride price?
Regarding this issue, the person in charge said that considering that the return ratio of betrothal gifts not only needs to consider the time of living together, but also factors such as the pregnancy situation and the fault of both parties. The superposition of different factors will lead to various combinations. Setting a specific time may actually harm one party. interests of the parties.
Therefore, the "Regulations" do not stipulate specific living time.
In practice, a comprehensive determination should be made based on the specific circumstances of each case.
The person in charge said that based on the feedback from all parties on the draft of the "Regulations", the Supreme People's Court has modified and improved the relevant content. For example, the "pregnancy of children" in Articles 5 and 6 of the draft has been revised and improved. Modified to "pregnancy situation" to cover situations such as termination of pregnancy.
For another example, the "time of living together" in Articles 5 and 6 of the draft for comments is changed to "situation of living together" to guide judges when considering the facts of living together, they cannot simply calculate the length of time, but also need to comprehensively consider whether Actual living together, reasons for not actually living together, etc.
“The Supreme People’s Court has always attached great importance to the protection of women’s rights and interests. Taking into account women’s efforts in pregnancy, childbirth, raising children, etc., the “Regulations” clearly use this as a consideration factor to reduce the return of bride price or even not return it as appropriate, in order to better protect Women’s legitimate rights and interests,” the official said.
Clarify the subject of litigation over bride price disputes
In traditional Chinese customs, children's marriages are generally arranged by their parents, and both parents are often involved in receiving and delivering betrothal gifts.
The reporter noticed that in the dispute over the return of the bride price, the main procedural dispute is whether the parents of both parties to the marriage contract can be parties to the litigation.
In this regard, the "Regulations" have also been clarified.
"The "Regulations" fully take into account the above customs and clarify the subject of litigation involving disputes over bride price." The person in charge said that two situations must be distinguished, namely, marriage contract property disputes and divorce disputes.
The person in charge said that in principle, in cases of marriage contract property disputes, the two parties to the marriage contract are the subject of the litigation. However, considering that in practice, the payers and recipients of the bride price are not limited to the parties to the marriage contract, and the parents of both parties may also participate. In order to respect customs, but also to It is helpful to ascertain the case facts such as the amount of the betrothal gift and the actual use of the betrothal gift, and determine the responsible party. The "Regulations" clarify that in marriage contract property disputes, one party to the marriage contract and his or her parents who actually paid the betrothal gift can serve as co-plaintiffs; the other party to the marriage contract and their actual parents can serve as joint plaintiffs; The parents who received the bride price can serve as co-defendants.
"In divorce disputes, considering that the main subject of litigation in divorce disputes is the dissolution of the marriage relationship, it is not appropriate to include other persons outside the marriage as parties. Therefore, the "Regulations" make it clear that in divorce disputes, if one party files a lawsuit for the return of bride price, the parties shall still For both husband and wife,” the person in charge said.
Dowry and bride price go hand in hand with each other in wedding customs.
How to consider the return of dowry when returning the bride price?
The reporter noticed that Articles 5 and 6 of the "Regulations" clearly stipulate that dowry situations must be taken into consideration.
In this regard, the person in charge gave an example. For example, if the dowry has been consumed together or has been attached to the man's property and cannot be returned, corresponding deductions must be made.
The person in charge said that traditionally people generally believe that the remaining dowry should belong to the woman upon divorce, and there is not much controversy about this in real life.
Judging from the trial practice, there are very few disputes arising solely from the return of dowry. Therefore, the "Provisions" do not make separate provisions on the issue of return of dowry. Logically, these regulations can be followed for handling.
In the next step, the Supreme People's Court will continue to summarize practical trial experience and strengthen supervision and guidance by publishing typical cases and other methods.
News from this newspaper, Beijing, January 18