Original title: Does the high bride price under "flash leave" need to be returned?The SPC is clear
Guangming.com, Beijing, December 11 (Reporter Sun Mantao) At present, there are two kinds of disputes involving the return of bride price: one is the situation of "flashing";There is also the case of a marriage that has not been registered but is already living together. In these two cases, what are the main considerations for whether the party paying the bride price can ask the other party to return the bride price?
The Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the All-China Women's Federation jointly held a press conference today on "Promoting the Change of Customs and Controlling High Bride Prices" to release typical cases of bride price disputes.
Wu Jingli, vice president of the First Civil Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, said that in the case of "flash departure", if the relevant litigation request for the return of the bride price is not supported at all, especially the high bride price paid by the whole family, the interests of both parties will be obviously unbalanced, and even lead to the party who paid the high bride price to return to poverty, which will have a significant impact on the future life. The people's courts' practice of using modern adjudication work to ensure Chinese-style modernization is reflected in the proper trial of specific cases.
For example, the reporter noticed that the first typical case released this time, the two parties have only lived together for more than a year, and the payer is not obviously at fault, and the amount of the bride price is too high relative to its family income, and the payment of the bride price has caused a heavier family burden, so it is fair for the bride price payer to return part of the bride price.
At the same time, it is also necessary to consider the fact that the termination of pregnancy has also caused a certain degree of damage to the woman's health, and pay attention to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of women. In the case of being married and living together, the judiciary implements the spirit of "No. 1 Document", focusing on the imbalance of interests caused by high bride price. Realistically speaking, China has a vast territory, different regions have different levels of economic and social development, and even in the same region, there may be great differences in the economic conditions of different households, so it is difficult to determine a unified standard for high amounts, and it is necessary to refer to the per capita disposable income of local residents and the family income of the payer in individual cases.
The reporter noted that although Article 5 of the Judicial Interpretation (1) of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code distinguishes the return of the bride price into different situations of marriage registration and marriage registration, the focus is still on whether to live together. In the absence of marriage registration, the two parties who have already lived together do not have the legal rights and obligations of husband and wife because they have not gone through the marriage registration formalities, but the "reality of husband and wife" living together should not be ignored when hearing disputes over the return of the bride price. The fact of living together not only carries an important purpose for the party who paid the bride price, but also has a certain impact on the physical and mental health of the woman, especially in the case of childbearing. If the party receiving the bride price is required to return all the bride price only because the marriage has not been registered, it is contrary to the principle of fairness and is not conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of women.
Therefore, if the parties have not completed the marriage registration formalities but have already lived together, various factors should be considered to determine whether to return the marriage. This is the case, for example, in Case 2 released this time. Although the parties did not register their marriage, but held a wedding in accordance with local Xi customs, and the parties had lived together as husband and wife for more than three years and had already given birth to a son, the case ruled that the woman did not need to return the bride price, which was in line with local customs and Xi, and especially reflected the protection of women's legitimate rights and interests.
Editor in charge: Xiaoyun.