In recent years,The issue of bride priceIt has gradually become one of the focuses of social attention. In the marital relationship, the payment of the bride price often carries the consideration of the woman's family economic situation and the recognition of the marital relationship. However, an excessively high bride price often brings a heavier financial burden to the man's family, and may even lead to disputes over the return of the bride price.
The Supreme People's Court, together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the All-China Women's Federation, recently held a press conference on the governance of high bride prices, and released typical cases of people's courts involving bride price disputes. This article will start from the perspective of case analysis, ** the issue of bride price and the application of relevant legal provisions.
Case 1: A bride price dispute between Wang and Li.
In this case, Wang and Li registered their marriage in September 2020, and Wang's family belonged to a low-income family. In order to get married smoothly, Wang Moumou paid Li Moumou a bride price of 1880,000 yuan. However, the two parties divorced in February 2022 due to family conflicts, and Wang Moumou asked Li Moumou to return the bride price 1880,000 yuan. The court comprehensively considered the fact that the two parties had lived together for a short time and that the woman had terminated the pregnancy, and decided that Li Moumou should return the bride price of 56,400 yuan.
In this case,When determining whether and in proportion to the return of the bride price, the court considers the length of the cohabitation as one of the important considerations.
Although the Judicial Interpretation (I) of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code stipulates that in the absence of marriage registration, if the parties have already lived together, the actual situation of living together should be considered, the focus of the return of the bride price is still on whether they live together. Therefore, when dealing with such disputes, it is necessary to fully consider the actual situation of the parties and local customs and Xi.
Case of bride price dispute between Zhang and Zhao.
In this case, Zhang and Zhao have lived together since February 2019 and gave birth to a son in June 2020. In January 2021, the parties held a marriage ceremony, but did not go through the marriage registration procedures. Zhao received a bride price of 160,000 yuan from Zhang. Later, the two parties terminated their cohabitation relationship in August 2022 due to the breakdown of their relationship, and Zhang sued for Zhao to return 80% of the bride price for a total of 1280,000 yuan.
The court held that the parties had lived together since February 2019 and had married in accordance with folk Xi, and had given birth to a son during their time together. If the bride price is still requested to be returned after living together in the name of husband and wife for several years, it is obviously unfair to Zhao. Therefore, the court ruled to reject Zhang's claim.
In this case, the court fully considered the local customs and Xi and the actual situation of both parties, and did not support Zhang's claim. When dealing with such disputes, a comprehensive judgment should be made on the basis of the actual circumstances as to whether the bride price should be returned and the proportion of the return.
Case of bride price dispute between Liu and Zhu.
In this case, Liu and Zhu registered their marriage in September 2020, and Liu transferred a sum of 800,000 yuan to Zhu's bank account in the month of marriage with a postscript of "bride price", and a transfer of 260,000 yuan with a postscript of "hardware". Both parties work and live in cities in different provinces. Later, due to disputes over the preparation of the wedding and other matters, the two parties divorced by agreement in November 2020, and the marriage relationship lasted less than three months. After the divorce, there was a dispute over the return of the bride price, and Liu sued Zhu to return the bride price of 1.06 million yuan.
The court held that 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, and cannot be considered to have a stable common life. In the end, the court decided to return the bride price of 800,000 yuan.
In this case, the court elaborated on the determination of "living together" and the boundary between the bride price and the general gift, and when handling such cases, it is necessary to fully consider the actual circumstances of the case, comprehensively determine whether the bride price should be returned and the proportion of the return, and pay attention to balancing the interests of both parties.
Conclusions and Recommendations
From the above three typical cases, it can be seen that the following points need to be paid attention to when dealing with disputes involving bride price:
Fully consider local customs and Xi and the actual situation of both parties, and comprehensively determine whether the bride price should be returned and the proportion of the return;
The length of time spent together should be considered, but other factors such as having children and cohabitation should also be taken into account
In determining the parties to the proceedings, consideration should be given to the Xi practice of listing the parents of one of the parties to the marriage contract as co-parties, which would facilitate the ascertainment of the facts of the case;
When dealing with such disputes, it is necessary to balance the interests of both parties, and to protect the rights and interests of both the woman and the man;
When dealing with disputes involving bride price, attention should be paid to mediation and negotiation, properly resolving conflicts and disputes, and maintaining social harmony and stability
Strengthen publicity and education, guide the masses to establish a correct concept of marriage and love, advocate rational consumption, and avoid family conflicts and social instability caused by the pursuit of high bride price;
Improve relevant laws and regulations, clarify the nature and scope of bride price, and strengthen the operability of judicial practice.