To resolve bride price disputes and resolve related conflicts, legal, reasonable and clear handling rules are required.
Wedding ring. Fig. ic photo
Beijing News editorial.
According to CCTV news, in order to unify the standards for the application of law in similar dispute cases, on December 11, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the All-China Women's Federation jointly held a press conference to release typical cases of people's courts involving bride price disputes.
As a traditional Xi in the field of marriage in China, bride price has a profound social and cultural foundation. However, in recent years, the amount of bride price has continued to rise, and the number of cases involving bride price disputes has shown an upward trend, and even vicious criminal cases caused by the return of bride price.
It can be seen that the impact of the bride price issue is not limited to individuals and families, but has become a social problemIt is not just a matter of property, but a matter of personal safety and social stability. To solve the problem of bride price disputes and resolve related contradictions, legal, reasonable and clear dispute resolution rules are required.
Because, only when the rules are legal and reasonable, the parties will follow the results from the bottom of their hearts;Only when the rules are clear can the parties have a clear prediction of the consequences of their actions. The release of typical cases involving bride price disputes by the three departments is to announce the rules to the society by using cases to explain the law.
Marriage should begin with love, and the bride price seems incompatible with love. However, as a traditional Xi custom, the bride price also contains the good wishes of the two families for "a suitable room", and human feelings and national law do not completely reject it, but recognize and protect it to a certain extent.
In the third typical case released this time, the parties had a dispute over whether the "hardware" money involved in the case of 260,000 yuan was a bride price, and the court ruled that it was in line with the general perception of the people about the bride price, and it was determined to be a bride price in accordance with the law. "In line with the general understanding of the people on the bride price", so that the scope of the bride price protected by law is relatively clear.
For the bride price payer, since it accepts the other party's bride price request and pays the bride price, it needs to be prepared for the bride price to "never return". However, the protection of the bride price under the law is not unlimited, and the recipient also faces the risk of returning it. In reality, the excessively high bride price has become the fuse of contradictions and disputes, and even caused confrontation and conflict between two families.
It is a consistent principle of the legislation and the judiciary to resolutely oppose arranged marriages, the sale of marriages, and the extortion of property under the pretext of marriage. The three departments reaffirmed this principle, and those who attempt to extort money or property through marriage should stop.
With regard to the conditions and proportions for the return of the bride price, the judicial authorities have also preliminarily established rules through typical cases. The bride price is given by one party for the purpose of consuming the marriage, and if the marriage is contracted and lasts, the bride price will not be a problem. However, if the long-term marriage does not materialize, the question of whether the bride price will be returned.
For example, the bride price has been paid, and the two parties have lived together, but the marriage has not been registered, and they break up for some reason;Another example is that the bride price is paid and the marriage registration is also handled, but the two parties live together for a short time, that is, "flash away". In these cases, the parties often disagree on whether or not to return the bride price and to what extent. This is also a judicial difficulty.
The typical cases released this time give relatively clear answers to the above difficulties. The basic spirit is that since the value of the bride price is the conclusion of marriage, the important criterion for judging whether and how much to return is the extent to which the bride price has achieved the purpose of entering into marriage. The basis for judging includes: the length of time the parties have lived together, whether they have registered their marriage, whether they have conceived children, etc. On the basis of full consideration of the above multiple factors, it is reasonably determined to balance and protect the interests of both parties.
In a typical case released this time, the marital relationship between the parties lasted less than 3 months, during which they worked and lived in different cities. Considering that there were some expenses such as the wedding and the period of living together, the court finally decided to return 800,000 yuan of the 1.06 million bride price, which was fair and reasonable.
This batch of typical cases involving bride price disputes has clarified the spirit of the application of law and preliminarily established adjudication rules. However, in reality, there are many kinds of bride price disputes, and it is obviously difficult to deal with all the problems with just a few cases.
The relevant person in charge of the Supreme Court revealed at the press conference that it will solicit opinions from the public on the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Cases Involving Bride Prices". This means that more comprehensive and clear rules for adjudication of bride price disputes are coming to us, and they will also provide more effective legal guarantees for the harmony and stability of marriage, family and society.
Edited by Xu Qiuying.
Proofreading Fu Chunshu.