Author丨Wang Jun.
Editor丨Cai Shuyue.
Figure source丨Figure worm.
In recent years, the issue of bride price has been frequently searched and has attracted widespread attention. Today (December 11), the Supreme People's Court, together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the All-China Women's Federation, held a press conference to promote the management of high bride prices in changing customs and customs.
At the meeting, it was revealed that 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. 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.
Resolutely oppose arranged marriages, buy and sell marriages, and oppose the extortion of property under the pretext of marriage
The bride price ** has a long history as the "six rites" in China's ancient marriage Xi. As a traditional Xi in the field of marriage in China, it has a profound social and cultural foundation, and contains the good wishes of the two families for "suitable room home".
However, Ms. Chen Yifang, President of the First Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court, revealed that in recent years, the amount of bride price has continued to rise, and some people blindly regard the bride price as a measure of love regardless of the family's economic situation; Some people think that the more the bride price, the more they appear to have face, and the wind of comparison quietly spreads. This not only deviates from the original intention of the bride price, but also puts a heavy economic burden on the paying family's family due to the bride price, but also lays hidden dangers for the stability of the marriage, which is not conducive to the promotion of social civilization and customs.
Judging from the situation reflected in 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。"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 contradictions and disputes, which is not only not conducive to the establishment and long-term stability of the marital relationship, but also easy to cause confrontation, contradictions and conflicts between the two families, affecting social harmony and stability. Chen Yifang pointed out.
Chen Yifang emphasizedResolutely oppose arranged marriages, buy and sell marriages, and oppose the extortion of property under the pretext of marriage。The most important feature of the bride price is that the purpose of marriage is the marriage, and in cases where the purpose of the payment cannot be achieved or cannot be fully realized, the issue of the return of the bride price should be handled in a realistic manner with the promotion of the core socialist values as the guide. 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 Civil Code of the People's Republic of China on Marriage and Family stipulates three circumstances under which the bride price may be returned, including: failure to register a marriage, marriage registration but not living together, and hardship to the payer due to the payment of the bride price.
However, in real life, there are two kinds of disputes involving the return of bride price:One is the "flash" situation；The other is the case of a marriage that has not been registered but is already living together. The above-mentioned judicial interpretations cannot be applied, and whether and how the bride price should be returned has become a difficult point
This time, the Supreme People's Court released a number of typical cases, clarifying the three principles for handling disputes involving bride price:The first is to clarify the basic principle that it is strictly forbidden to extort money or property under the pretext of marriage. The second is to fully respect folk Xi and reasonably determine the scope of bride price on the basis of the general recognition of the local people. The third is to adhere to the problem-oriented, give full consideration to the purposeful characteristics of the bride price, and consider the proportion of different factors such as the time spent living together, marriage registration, and childbearing in the realization of the fundamental purpose of marriage, so as to reasonably balance the rights and interests of both parties
Chen Yifang pointed out that marriages that last for a short period of time can lead to an imbalance in many marital-based property arrangements, and the bride price issue is a manifestation of this dilemma. The bride price is for the purpose of bringing the two surnames together and living together for a long time. Under normal circumstances, if both parties have completed the marriage registration procedures and live together, and if one party requests the return of the bride price paid in accordance with Xi customs at the time of divorce, the people's court will not support it. 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 than the long-term living together of both parties. 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. In the case of "flash departure", if the 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 cause the party who paid the high bride price to return to poverty, which will have a significant impact on the future life.
The reporter noted 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 to return part of the bride price to the bride price payer.
In addition, in Typical Case 2, although the parties did not register their marriage, they 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, and the judgment in this case was that the woman did not need to return the bride price, which was in line with local customs and Xi and reflected the protection of women's legitimate rights and interests.
The average cost of marriage in Hebei and other places decreased by 7-150,000 yuan respectively
In recent years, relevant departments have actively promoted the change of customs and the rectification of high bride price.
Wang Jinhua, director of the Department of Social Affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said that at present, all localities have established mechanisms, defined division of labor, clarified responsibilities, and established rules, forming an effective joint force to promote the management of problems. Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Zhejiang, Henan, Jiangxi, Gansu, Chongqing, Sichuan and many other places have announced advocacy standards such as bride price and accompanying gifts. Hejian City in Hebei Province and Guixi City in Jiangxi Province have reduced the average cost of local marriages by about 7-150,000 yuan and 60,000 yuan respectively through the management of outstanding problems.
In addition, efforts have been made to promote marriage and family counseling services. Relying on marriage registration organs, local civil affairs departments and women's federations and other units are actively exploring the provision of marriage and family counseling services for marriage parties, and the total number of divorce registrations handled by marriage registration organs in 2022 decreased by 43 compared with 202079%。At the same time, in order to help the parties prepare for entering the marital state, improve the skills of couples to resolve marital crises and reduce marital and family disputes, all localities provide professional and comprehensive premarital counseling and marital and family relationship adjustment services for the parties through public welfare venture capital, first-class purchase services, etc.
At present, the coverage rate of marriage and family counseling rooms of marriage registration offices at or above the county level is close to 90 percent. Zhejiang, Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Chongqing, Shaanxi and other places have also explored extending marriage and family counseling services to online or grassroots towns (streets) and villages (communities), expanding coverage and giving full play to the role of marriage and family counseling services. According to statistics, in 2023, more than 3 million marriage and family counseling services have been provided in various places.
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Editor of this issue: Li Yutong, Xi, Zhao Fengling.
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