In view of the difficulties in judicial practice as to whether and how the bride price should be returned after the purpose of marriage cannot be realized, the SPC has clarified the trial principles through typical cases.
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Beijing News reporter Xing Haiyang editor Fan Yijing proofreader Li Lijun.
The bride price contains the good wishes of the two families for "a suitable room". However, in recent years, the amount of bride price has continued to rise. From the perspective of judicial practice, the number of cases involving bride price disputes has been on the rise in recent years, and there have even been vicious criminal cases caused by the return of bride price.
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 report on the work of promoting the change of customs and the control of high bride prices. In view of the difficulties in judicial practice as to whether and how the bride price should be returned after the purpose of marriage cannot be realized, the SPC has clarified the trial principles through typical cases.
Difficulties in the trial. Where there are a large number of unregistered marriages but holding a wedding and living together, or having registered a marriage but living together for a short period of time, the conditions for the return of the bride price as provided for in the judicial interpretation do not apply.
Since 2021, the "No. 1 Document" has put forward work requirements for the management of high bride prices and changing customs for three consecutive years. "From the handling of a large number of disputes, we can see that a high bride price is not the secret to ensuring family happiness, but may become the fuse of conflicts and disputes. Chen Yifang, president of the First Civil Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, said that the most important feature of the bride price is to conclude a marriage as the purpose, and in the case that the purpose of payment cannot be achieved or cannot be fully realized, the issue of the return of the bride price should be dealt with realistically. Women's rights and interests should be protected in accordance with law, and the impact of the high bride price burden on the life of the party paying the bride price should also be considered, and the interests of both parties should be properly balanced.
With regard to the conditions for the return of the bride price, the Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation (1)") stipulates three types of circumstances under which the bride price may be returned: the marriage has not been registered, the marriage has been registered but has not lived together, and the payment of the bride price causes the payer to have difficulties in living.
In real life, there are a large number of cases where the marriage has not been registered but the wedding is held in accordance with local Xi and lives together, and the marriage has been registered but the life together is relatively short, and the above-mentioned judicial interpretation cannot be applied, and whether and how to return the bride price has become difficult. Chen Yifang pointed out.
On the same day, the Supreme People's Court released a number of typical cases involving bride price disputes. Typical cases focus on common issues in trial practice, and clarify three principles for handling disputes involving bride price: it is strictly forbidden to solicit property under the pretext of marriage; Fully respect folk Xi, and reasonably determine the scope of bride price based on the general recognition of the local people; Fully consider the purposeful characteristics of the bride price, consider the proportion of different factors such as the length of living together, marriage registration, and childbearing in the realization of the fundamental purpose of marriage, and reasonably balance the rights and interests of both parties.
Clarification 1: If a marriage has been registered but the time of living together is relatively short, the excessively high bride price shall be returned at the time of divorce based on facts such as the time spent living together and the conception of children.
In the divorce dispute case between Wang Moumou and Li Moumou (female), the two registered their marriage in September 2020. Wang's family is a low-income family in the local area. In order to marry the other party smoothly, Wang Moumou paid Li Moumou a bride price of 1880,000 yuan. Li Moumou terminated her pregnancy in April 2021. Due to the deepening family conflict between the two parties, Wang Moumou sued for divorce in February 2022 and asked Li Moumou to return the bride price 1880,000 yuan.
The trial court held that the parties had no possibility of subsistence due to the lack of understanding before the marriage and the fact that they had not established a deep relationship after the marriage, and granted the divorce. Combined with the local economic living standard and the economic situation of Wang's family, the bride price paid by Wang Moumou was 18$80,000 is too high and in fact causes a heavier burden on the family. Comprehensively considering the fact that the two parties have lived together for a short time and that the woman has terminated the pregnancy, it is decided that Li Moumou should return the bride price5640,000 yuan.
Chen Yifang pointed out that based on the specific purpose of the bride price payment, under normal circumstances, if the two parties have already gone through the marriage registration formalities and live together, the people's court will not support the request of one party to return the bride price at the time of divorce. However, it should also be noted that in addition to the legal formal requirement of marriage registration, the purpose of paying the bride price is more important for the parties to live together for a long time. Therefore, the length of time spent together should be an important consideration in determining whether and what percentage of the bride price will be returned.
2. If a man and a woman have lived together for a long time after the marriage ceremony and have children, the return of the bride price is generally not supported.
In the case of a property dispute over the marriage contract between Zhang and Zhao (female), the two were introduced to each other in November 2018, lived together since February 2019, and gave birth to a son in June 2020. In January 2021, the two parties held a marriage ceremony, but they have not gone through the marriage registration procedures. Zhao received a bride price of 160,000 yuan from Zhang. Later, the relationship between the two parties broke down and the cohabitation relationship was terminated in August 2022. Zhang sued and claimed that Zhao returned 80% of the bride price, totaling 1280,000 yuan.
The trial court held that the parties had lived together since February 2019 and held a wedding in accordance with folk Xi, that the parties had given birth to a son during their common life, who had now reached the age of 2, and that they would inevitably incur related expenses due to daily consumption and childbirth and raising children during their common life, and that it would be obviously unfair to Zhao if they still asked for the return of the bride price after living together in the name of husband and wife for several years and having raised children together for 2 years, so the judgment rejected Zhang's claim.
The SPC pointed out that the provisions of Interpretation (I) on the return of the bride price without marriage registration should be limited to the situation where they are not living together. 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 when hearing disputes over the return of the bride price, the "reality of husband and wife" living together should not be ignored. 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. The judgment in this case conforms to local customs and Xi, balances the interests of all parties, and especially reflects the protection of women's legitimate rights and interests.
Clarification 3: If the marriage has been registered, there is only a short period of cohabitation experience, and a stable cohabitation has not yet been formed, and part of the bride price shall be returned after deducting the expenses such as joint consumption.
In the case of a property dispute over the marriage contract between Liu and Zhu (female), the two established a romantic relationship in July 2020 and registered their marriage in September 2020. In the month of marriage, Liu transferred a sum of 800,000 yuan to Zhu's bank account with a postscript of "bride price", and transferred a sum of 260,000 yuan with a postscript of "hardware". Later, due to disputes over preparations for the wedding and other matters, the two parties divorced by agreement in November 2020, and the marriage relationship lasted for less than three months, and there were no children after marriage, no joint property, and no joint claims and debts. The parties lived together for a short time, and incurred some expenses for preparing for the wedding banquet, taking wedding photos, traveling together, and relating with relatives and friends. After the divorce, a dispute arose over the return of the bride price, and Liu sued to request Zhu to return the bride price of 1.06 million yuan.
The trial court held that the bride price was money paid by one party to the other in accordance with Xi at the time of marriage. Regarding the nature of the money involved in the case, in addition to the 800,000 yuan that has been clearly marked as a bride price, the 260,000 yuan remarked as "hardware" is also in line with the general understanding of bride price in wedding Xi and should also be recognized as a bride price.
With regard to the recognition of living together, although the parties have registered their marriage, they are still in the process of holding the wedding ceremony in accordance with Xi customs. The marriage relationship between the parties lasted less than three months, during which the parties worked and lived in different cities, and did not form a consistent plan for how to work, live and live in the future. Although the parties have lived together for a short period of time, they have not yet formed a complete family community and a stable living state, so it cannot be deemed that they have a stable life together. In view of the fact that the two parties have registered their marriage and that the two parties have common expenses after Liu pays the bride price, this part of the expenses will be deducted. Accordingly, the court determined at its discretion that the bride price of 800,000 yuan should be returned.
Duty Editor Gu Li plus minus.