Claiming property through marriage is not conducive to family happiness

　　Jiangxi Poyang Engagement Ceremony Presents A Huge Lottery Event On The Black List Of Changing Customs

　　□ Our reporter Zhao Li

　　□ Trainee reporter Sun Tianjiao

　　The 260,000 yuan gift, the black list announced, a comedy turned farce.

　　Recently, at the engagement ceremony of a villager's daughter in Poyang County, Jiangxi Province, a huge amount of bride price was placed at the bride price table. This matter was uploaded to the Internet in the form of a video, which attracted attention.

In the end, the township government gave the villager's village committee a notice and criticism, and put the matter on the black list of changing customs.

　　In recent years, a variety of controversial topics caused by sky-high betrothal gifts have been frequently exposed to the public. Among them, there are many cases in which husbands and wives have turned against each other and their families are miserable due to sky-high beauties.

　　Experts interviewed by reporters from the "Rules of Law Daily" believe that the current regulations on betting gifts in my country's legal system are mainly focused on dispute resolution, that is, when the conditions for both parties to pay the beauties are not fulfilled, the issue of whether the payer can request the return.

　　Regarding the governance of sky-high price gifts, the interviewed experts believe that the current governance of sky-high price gifts is generally modest and has certain effects. It is still necessary to strengthen confidence, maintain patience, not cross boundaries or slack, and achieve it in a spring-like manner. The effect of changing customs.

　　Highly-priced gifts are frequently seen in the newspapers

　　Taking the opportunity to seek money has been criticized

　　After spending more than 400,000 yuan and carrying huge debts on his family, he was facing the dilemma of not being able to officially get married... In April 2019, Xu Jun, a 25-year-old man in Yingtan, Jiangxi, raised a kitchen knife and hacked his fiance Ye Miao, who was two years younger than him. Pseudonym).

This tragedy shocked the whole country.

　　In recent years, controversies caused by sky-high price gifts have been commonplace.

Previously, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily had investigated and learned about many rural areas and found that disputes caused by the high cost of marriage are still continuing, and most families with married children are still trapped by the sky-high price gifts.

The local village cadres and villagers who were interviewed called for "regulating the lottery", "otherwise these young people will really be abandoned."

　　Because of this, there have even been slogans such as "getting out of poverty is not easy, and being well-off is even harder; getting married and ruining it once", reflecting that the sky-high price of gifts in rural areas has become a "blocker" on the road to well-off society in poverty-stricken areas.

　　In this regard, Deng Li, associate researcher of the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and deputy secretary-general of the Gender and Law Research Center, said in an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that the sky-high price of gifts has become a matter of widespread concern to the media and the public, which is itself a kind of society. Reflection and public discussion make it possible to shape and construct more civilized and independent marriage values.

On this basis, some prominent judicial cases have also emerged, reflecting the social harm, disagreement and collision of ideas of this issue. "The legal norms and judicial judgment positions involved in this issue provide us with a high price for understanding and handling. The legal basis of the bride price".

　　Gao Lei, deputy director of the Beijing Dongwei Women’s Legal Aid and Research Center, mentioned in an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that if the bride price is used as a good wish for marriage, “just like the New Year’s money we collect during the New Year, we collect it on our birthday. The gift is the same, and if the amount is appropriate, there is no problem. What we should pay attention to is that those who are suspected of buying and selling marriage or materializing women's high-priced gifts, when the marriage is marked with a price, the nature of the marriage has also changed."

　　Deng Li believes that if the bride price exceeds a reasonable limit, it will not only make the payer embarrassed or even burden the debt, but also bring shadows and hidden dangers to the relationship between the married couple and the relationship between the in-laws, and it is not conducive to the harmony of the marriage and family.

"From the Marriage Law of 1950 to the Marriage Law of 1980, to the Civil Code promulgated in 2020, the legal position has always been clear, that is, it is forbidden to obtain property through marriage."

　　"As a legal term,'requesting property through marriage' has a specific direction and meaning. It refers to the behavior of the parties voluntarily marrying but requesting certain property as a necessary condition for marriage. Under this legal framework, looking at the issue of sky-high price gifts, there will be different situations. Different definitions depend on what role the bride price plays in the conclusion of the marriage, under what circumstances, whether it damages the parties’ freedom of marriage, etc." Deng Li explained, for example, the determination of “requesting property through marriage” , The core is whether to claim property when the other party is unable or willing to pay, and use this as a precondition for marriage.

　　"The protection of marriage in the Civil Code still focuses on the protection of freedom of marriage. If one party asks for property and the other party is willing to pay, it can be regarded as a voluntary act by both parties, and the law is not convenient for interference." Gao Lei believes that due to the extremely uneven development in various regions of our country, the economic situation of each family is also different, so the price of the bride price cannot be restricted and regulated by law.

At present, the regulations on the lottery in my country's legal system mainly focus on the dispute resolution part, that is, when the conditions for both parties to pay the lottery are not fulfilled, the payer can request the return.

　　At the same time, Gao Lei added that according to Article 5 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" Marriage and Family Edition (1)" Article 5, the payer can request the return of the gift in three cases: 1. It is because the two parties have not registered for marriage; the second is that the two parties have registered for marriage but do not live together; and the third is that the payment of the bride price has caused difficulties for the payer.

In the second and third cases, the divorce of both parties must be the condition.

　　"The law can actually be regarded as a warning to followers of the sky-high price gift-if you ask for the sky-high price gift, there may be a crack in your marriage, and once the marriage relationship is broken, you will face the problem of returning the gift." Deng Li said.

　　Strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization

　　Realize changing customs

　　Regarding the issue of sky-high price gifts, relevant departments have been comprehensively rectifying in recent years.

　　In February 2019, the high-priced beauties clearly appeared in the No. 1 Central Document for the first time. When talking about strengthening the construction of spiritual civilization in rural areas, it was specifically mentioned that "we must deal with bad habits such as weddings and funerals, high-price beauties, declining filial piety, and old people who have nothing to support. Governance by atmosphere".

　　In May 2020, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Pilot Reform of Marriage Customs", requiring the implementation of the management of unhealthy practices such as high-priced gifts, extravagance and waste, vulgar marriages, and comparisons with gifts, and establish a sound long-term mechanism to help Fight poverty alleviation and promote the improvement of social atmosphere.

　　On December 2, 2020, Zhang Tianzuo, Director of the Rural Cooperative Economic Guidance Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, bluntly stated at a press conference on the second batch of typical cases of rural governance in the country, and he should deal with the high price of gifts, favors, marriages and funerals in rural areas. Through studying typical cases of rural governance, we found a common law and characteristic: under the leadership of the grassroots party organization, relying on villagers’ autonomous organizations to take necessary binding measures for governance.

　　In response to the problem of sky-high price gifts, some localities have also introduced a series of governance plans.

　　For example, on July 1, 2020, the country’s first local regulation on the transfer of customs and customs, the “Regulations on the Promotion of Customs and Customs in Haidong City” was officially implemented.

The regulations stipulate that residents in this city advocate no or only courtesy gifts for marriage. If the two parties to the marriage give the gifts according to the local traditional customs and customs agreements, the standards of the gifts shall comply with the provisions of the village regulations and the resident convention.

For another example, in February 2020, the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs issued the "Notice on Giving Full Play to the Functions of Civil Affairs Departments to Further Improve the Reform of Marriage Customs", proposing to promote the reform of marriage customs.

　　However, some scholars believe that in the social environment of rural acquaintances, the gift of favor can maintain the relationship between people.

If it is directly banned and implemented across the board, in a sense it will break the bond between people.

　　"In recent years, all parts of our country, especially some areas where economic development itself is underdeveloped, and so many disputes and troubles caused by high-priced gifts have begun to approach this issue from the perspective of social governance, mainly adopting advocacy and restrictive soft regulations, which are generally more prudent. , Has also begun to produce some positive effects.” Deng Li believes that from a geographical point of view, the sky-high price gift is indeed a problem with both commonality and particularity.

The commonality lies in that they bind wealth to marriage and are wealth that exceeds the ability to pay or the willingness to pay. The particularity is that the level of economic development in different regions, people’s perceptions and understandings are also different, and the definition of “sky price” is also different. The handling of this problem really depends on the identification and guidance of local economic and cultural development, marriage and family customs."

　　Previously, in an interview, Zhao Xiaoxue, a consultant at a Beijing marriage agency, told a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that in recent years, through a series of national and local policies, legal work, and publicity, the public has gained a lot of legal awareness on the issue of bride price. Great improvement, but the custom of paying the bride price still exists in some regions, and it is considered reasonable, reasonable and legal.

Therefore, especially in rural areas, although there have been many phenomena of actually obtaining property through marriage, people do not realize that such behavior is illegal.

　　In this regard, Deng Li suggested that party members and cadres should give full play to the exemplary role of party members and cadres in the process of governance of sky-high price gifts.

From a historical point of view, the Party Central Committee is very good at doing mass work. The marriage and family reforms in the revolutionary base areas before liberation and the construction of the marriage and family legal system after the founding of the People's Republic of China are all good experiences and traditions.

At the current stage, it is necessary to continue to play a leading role in an active and clear work style in response to the marriage and family chaos in the rapid economic development.

　　Gao Lei suggested that it should be truly "grounded."

She believes that we must first strengthen grassroots law education, strengthen public opinion guidance, and let the masses know the law; at the same time, publicize the harmfulness of sky-high price gifts, eliminate the bad social atmosphere of comparison and show off wealth, and conduct moral guidance to restrain the phenomenon of sky-high price gifts. spread.

Secondly, we need to develop the rural economy in an all-round way, gradually narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, attract more women to return to their hometowns for employment and entrepreneurship, and reduce the problem of serious imbalances in the ratio of men and women in rural areas. “It is also necessary to continue to promote the basic national policy of gender equality. Equality, the phenomenon of sky-high price gifts can completely disappear."