China News Service, Beijing, February 23 - Around the Spring Festival is the peak period for engagements and marriages. On the eve of this year's Spring Festival, the "New Rules on Betrothal Gifts" issued by the Supreme People's Court were officially implemented.

Recently, many places have applied new regulations to adjudicate or mediate bride price lawsuits.

"New Rules on Betrothal Gifts" Officially Implemented

　　On February 1, the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases involving Betrothal Disputes" issued by the Supreme People's Court officially came into effect.

The new regulations clarify how to handle disputes over betrothal gifts in situations such as extorting property through marriage and "escaping" after marriage.

　　For example, when determining the betrothal gift, how to distinguish the betrothal gift from the general gifts during the relationship?

The new regulations clarify that when determining whether a certain payment is a betrothal gift, the purpose of the payment of property by one party can be based on the local customs of both parties, the time and method of payment, the value of the property, the giver and the recipient, and other factual determinations.

　　The new regulations clarify several categories of property that do not belong to betrothal gifts by means of reverse exclusion, including gifts and gifts of small value given by one party on special commemorative occasions such as festivals or birthdays, and daily consumption by one party to express or enhance feelings. Sexual expenses, etc.

　　In addition, the new regulations make it clear that if both parties have registered their marriage and are living together, and if one party requests the return of the bride price paid in accordance with customs during divorce, the people's court will generally not support it.

However, if the time of living together is short and the amount of the betrothal gift is too high, the people's court can determine whether to return the betrothal gift based on the actual use of the betrothal gift and the dowry situation, comprehensively considering the amount of the betrothal gift, the circumstances of living together and pregnancy, the fault of both parties, and other facts, and taking into account local customs. The specific proportion of return.

   File photo taken by China News Service reporter Lu Ming

Case 1: I got divorced half a month after receiving the certificate. What should I do with the bride price?

　　Recently, the People's Court of Xiantao City, Hubei Province applied the Supreme Court's new rules on bride price for the first time to mediate a divorce case involving a bride price dispute.

According to reports, in 2022, Li and Zhang met through someone's introduction. In January 2023, the two parties registered their marriage and did not have any children after the marriage.

　　During the relationship, Li transferred money and sent red envelopes to Zhang many times to enhance the relationship between the two parties.

Before the marriage, Li paid Zhang a cash gift of 150,000 yuan and bought "three golds" for Zhang.

After the marriage, the two parties continued to quarrel. In February 2024, Zhang filed for divorce in the court on the grounds of "incompatibility of views and personalities." Li agreed to the divorce, but asked Zhang to return the bride price totaling more than 200,000 yuan.

　　After accepting the case, the judge learned that Li and Zhang began to separate less than half a month after their marriage, and the two parties had a major dispute over the amount and return of the bride price.

The court organized the two parties to mediate many times, and finally the two parties reached an agreement. Zhang returned Li's gift money and tea money of 165,000 yuan, and red envelopes and "three golds" worth 38,800 yuan in court, returning a total of 203,800 yuan.

Case 2: When you are in love, is the jewelry given on the day of "520" considered a betrothal gift?

　　Recently, the WeChat public account of the Beijing High Court "Beijing Law Net Affairs" posted a case in which a Beijing Intermediate People's Court applied the Supreme Court's new rules on betrothal gifts and made a judgment.

　　Jia and Li met through a commercial dating website in early 2021 and established a romantic relationship.

During the relationship, Jia bought a mobile phone and jewelry for Li (the jewelry was purchased on May 20), and made multiple transfers totaling 40,000 yuan.

After that, the two parties began to live together irregularly. The two parties discussed the marriage and the amount of the bride price.

Jia agreed to give a betrothal gift of 500,000 yuan. Later, Jia transferred 150,000 yuan to Li, leaving the remaining gift unpaid.

Half a year later, the two parties broke up due to personality and living habits issues.

　　During the trial, in order to prove his claim, Jia also submitted screenshots of WeChat chat records, shopping receipts, bank transfer records and other documents to the court.

　　The court held that the mobile phone purchased by Jia for Li and the 40,000 yuan transferred were daily consumption expenditures by Jia to enhance the relationship during the relationship and were not considered betrothal gifts; the jewelry purchased by Jia for Li was purchased at a special time. , is a consumer expenditure to express or enhance feelings, and is not a betrothal gift; the 150,000 yuan transferred by Jia to Li occurred after the two parties communicated the amount of the betrothal gift, and its nature was clearly recognized as a betrothal gift by both parties. Therefore, it can be determined that The 150,000 yuan was part of the betrothal gift paid by Jia for the purpose of marrying Li.

　　In addition, according to the "New Rules on Betrothal Gifts", if the two parties have not registered their marriage but have lived together, and one party requests the return of the betrothal gift paid according to customs, the People's Court shall, based on the actual use of the betrothal gift and the dowry situation, comprehensively consider the facts such as living together, and combine it with the local situation. Customs determine whether to return and the specific proportion of return.

　　Accordingly, the court ruled that Li should return the bride price of 150,000 yuan to Jia, and rejected Jia's other claims.

  File photo taken by China News Service reporter Tang Yanjun

Case 3: Are the money for banquets, money for getting on the bus, and money for leaving one’s mother considered bride price?

　　The Fuping County Court in Shaanxi Province also recently issued a case applying the "new rules on bride price" for the first time.

　　In the case, Li Lei and Han Mei were in a free love union. After marriage, they discovered that their personalities were very different. Less than a year after their marriage, they often quarreled over various trivial matters, and eventually they decided to divorce.

　　During the trial, Li Lei submitted a 20-page expense record to the court and asked Han Mei to return all of it, including red envelopes of 520 yuan, 521 yuan, etc. given out on Valentine's Day, Qixi Festival, and birthdays during the relationship, totaling 9,800 yuan; meals, The cost of watching movies, buying bags, and traveling was 19,814 yuan; when they got engaged, the matchmaker gave the woman 88,888 yuan as a gift, 20,000 yuan for clothes, and a gold necklace, gold bracelet, gold earrings, and gold bracelet, totaling 36,000 yuan; when they got married, The banquet cost 64,000 yuan, the bus fare was 10,000 yuan, and the divorce fee was 10,000 yuan, totaling 258,502 yuan.

　　Han Mei said that the only betrothal gift recognized by the woman was the 88,888 yuan received during the engagement. Other expenses recorded by the man were not considered betrothal gifts. When the woman got married, she was given 8 quilts, 8 sheets, 1 TV, and 1 washing machine. Although they only lived together for one year, they had already lived together before marriage. The woman also had an abortion for the man, and Han Mei refused to return the bride price.

　　The court held that regarding the determination of the scope of betrothal gifts: Article 3 of the judicial interpretation of disputes involving betrothal gifts stipulates that gifts and gifts of small value given by one party on special commemorative occasions such as festivals and birthdays are daily consumption by one party to express or enhance feelings. Sexual expenses are not considered as bride price.

Therefore, the red envelopes sent during the relationship and the expenses during the relationship claimed by the man cannot be regarded as betrothal gifts.

According to local customs and general knowledge, the 64,000 yuan spent by the man on hosting a banquet for the wedding is not considered a betrothal gift.

　　The most controversial issue in this case is whether the divorce money and car money at the time of marriage can be recognized as betrothal gifts. Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Judicial Interpretation on Betrothal Gift Disputes stipulates that in the trial of cases involving betrothal gift disputes, the purpose of the payment of property by one party may be based on the purpose of the payment. , comprehensively considering the local customs of both parties, the time and method of payment, the value of the property, the giver and the recipient and other facts to determine the scope of the betrothal gift. In this case, taking into account the time and method of payment, the value of the property, the giver and the recipient, etc., the scope of the betrothal gift can be determined Money for leaving one's mother's wife and money for boarding the train are considered betrothal gifts.

　　To sum up, the betrothal gifts in this case include: 88,888 yuan as a betrothal gift given to the woman’s parents by the matchmaker at the time of engagement, 20,000 yuan for clothes, a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, a gold earring, and a gold bracelet totaling 36,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan for the car, and 10,000 yuan for divorce. The mother’s money is 10,000 yuan, totaling 164,888 yuan.

　　Is the amount of the bride price too high?

　　The court held that Article 5, Paragraph 2, of the Judicial Interpretation of Betrothal Gift Disputes stipulates that when the people's court determines whether the amount of a bride price is too high, it should comprehensively consider factors such as the per capita disposable income of residents in the location where the bride price is paid, the financial situation of the family of the payer, and local customs.

Considering that the per capita disposable income in local rural areas is only more than 17,000 yuan, and the amount of betrothal gifts is nearly 10 times the per capita disposable income in local rural areas, which is far beyond the affordability of ordinary people, the amount of betrothal gifts should be deemed to be too high.

　　In this case, the woman was given 8 quilts, 8 sheets, 1 TV, and 1 washing machine when she got married. During the trial, both parties agreed that the dowry should be discounted by 10,000 yuan.

The court held that the woman’s dowry should be taken into consideration when returning the bride price, and the amount of dowry that had been jointly consumed or added to the man’s property should be deducted.

　　Does the return of the bride price need to take into account the living conditions of both parties?

The judge believed that in reality, it is very common for men and women to live together without marriage and have children before marriage. We should not ignore the fact that both parties live together as a couple, especially if the woman terminates the pregnancy or gives birth to a child. If the length of time of living together, Requiring the woman to return all the bride price based on the woman's pregnancy status not only violates the principle of fairness, but also runs counter to the spirit of the law protecting women's legitimate rights and interests. We believe that the length of time they have lived together and whether the woman is pregnant should be important factors in determining whether the bride price is returned and the proportion of return.

　　After the case was heard in court, the facts of the case were ascertained, and the judge patiently and meticulously explained the law to both parties. The woman finally returned the betrothal gift of 46,000 yuan to the man in one go.

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