As a traditional wedding custom in China, bride price has a broad social and cultural basis. In recent years, the amount of bride price in many places has continued to rise, forming a trend of comparison. This not only deviates from the original intention of the bride price, but may also put a heavy financial burden on the family due to the bride price, laying hidden dangers for the stability of the marriage. Against the backdrop of the increasing number of cases involving bride price disputes, the Supreme People's Court comprehensively summarized the experience of judicial practice and issued the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Bride Price Disputes. Recently, the Datun Court of Pei County Court skillfully used the "new regulations" to interpret and substantively resolve a marriage property dispute case.
In April 2023, Xiaoqiang and Xiaocui were introduced to each other by a matchmaker, and after confirming their relationship, Xiaoqiang's family paid Xiaocui a meeting gift of 11,000 yuan, and Xiaoqiang spent 33,000 yuan to buy "four golds" for Xiaocui. On July 3, the two parties held an engagement banquet, and on the day of the engagement, Xiaoqiang handed over a bride price of 100,000 yuan to Xiaocui, and then Xiaocui purchased furniture and household appliances worth a total of 29,600 yuan and placed them in Xiaoqiang's residence, after which the two parties began to live together. In October 2023, the two sides got along with each other in conflicts, the former couple completely broke up, and the two had a dispute over the return of the bride price. In January 2024, Xiaoqiang sued Xiaocui to the Pei County Court, demanding that Xiaocui return a total of 144,000 yuan in the bride price, the "four golds" discount and interest losses.
In order to alleviate the litigation burden of both parties and efficiently resolve the dispute, the case was mediated by Zhu Ziying, the people's mediator of the Datun Court, for pre-litigation mediation. The mediator has a comprehensive understanding of the case and determines the handling ideas, and then contacts the plaintiff and the defendant. During the communication, both parties were unwilling to cooperate on the grounds that they were busy with work, and they hurriedly hung up after leaving their respective parents***.
The first communication hit a wall, and the mediator decided to look for a breakthrough in the case from both parents. In the communication with the parents of both parties, the mediator learned that the two parties have great differences in living habits, and as the conflict deepens, the two have no intention of reversing the relationship, and the return of the bride price has become the "fuse" of the lawsuit. During the mediation, the man proposed that the woman could not return the "four golds" but should return the bride price of 100,000 yuan; The woman believes that she has been living with the man for several months, and is only willing to return the "four golds" and the bride price of 20,000 yuan. The mediator organized and coordinated many times, but the two sides still had their own opinions and disputes.
When the mediator was at a loss, the team's guiding judge, Mao Yuanyuan, told the mediator: "The 'new rules on bride price' issued by the Supreme People's Court have been officially implemented, which can provide legal support for this case." The mediator who had eaten the "reassuring pill" organized communication between the two parties again, and conducted an on-site legal popularization in accordance with the "New Regulations on Bride Price", focusing on "the scope of bride price", "whether the bride price should be returned", "definition of the proportion of bride price return", etc. Under the guidance and persuasion of the mediator, the "bride price" dispute finally ended with Xiaocui returning the "four golds" and 40,000 yuan of bride price on the spot, and the result of Xiaoqiang's withdrawal of the lawsuit was substantially resolved, realizing the organic unity of legal and social effects.
The judge said: The bride price originated from the "six rites" in the ancient marriage customs of our country, which represents the good wishes of the two families who are willing to marry the "best of the best" for the "suitable room". However, for a period of time, some people regard the bride price as a "yardstick" to measure the happiness of marriage, and even some areas have played the "go with the market" card on the amount of the bride price, forming a self-evident "in the region" and the marriage and family conflicts and marriage contract disputes caused by the bride price have also continued to increase with the continuous rise of the bride price. On February 1, 2024, the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Bride Price Disputes came into effect, unifying the adjudication standards and clarifying the standards for judgment, such as explicitly prohibiting the use of marriage to solicit property, clarifying the difference between the bride price and general gifts during the relationship, clarifying the specific scope of the bride price and the subject of litigation in the bride price dispute, and further improving the principle of proportionality of the return of the bride price.
Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporter Zhao Tian.
Proofread by Li Haihui.