Russian Duma deputies have introduced a draft law aimed at protecting women's rights and allowing some servicemen who died in war to marry their former girlfriends. Although this bill appears to be to respect the feelings of the deceased and the rights of women, in fact, it may infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of other relatives.
We all know that marriage is not only a guarantee of affection, but also the legal basis for the distribution of property. Once two people get married, it means that they have the legal right to inherit property from each other. However, when a soldier dies on the battlefield, his property is still alive in the world, even though his life is gone. Therefore, allowing his former girlfriend to marry him will directly lead to the transfer of the right to inherit the property. This means that the property, savings and pensions he left behind will first be inherited by his girlfriend, not his parents or other relatives.
Such a rule seems to ignore the warrior's strong desire to marry during his lifetime. From falling in love to getting married, it is a long and serious process that involves many factors such as the families, social customs, and legal procedures of both parties. Therefore, just because two people have been in a relationship, they can't be hastily let get married after death.
The conditions for marriage under this bill are relatively relaxed, and they can apply for marriage if they have children and have lived together for at least one year, or have maintained a cohabiting family relationship for at least one year, or even have no children but have lived together for three years. However, such a provision appears to be too hasty and does not fully take into account the will of the soldiers who died in battle.
The warriors were left behind not only their girlfriends, but also their parents who loved them dearly. When a soldier sacrifices his life for the country and is unable to fulfill his filial piety, the legitimate rights and interests of his parents should be given priority protection. And the marriage that is made up after death may make the girlfriend face an unbearable responsibility of filial piety. More worryingly, if the girlfriend was granted the right to distribute the pension without officially leaving the house before the soldier's death, this undoubtedly opened the door to marriage fraud, including the possibility of creating false cohabitation certificates to defraud the pension.
Nowadays, with housing prices soaring, it is not uncommon for fake divorces to be carried out in pursuit of financial gain. So how do we make sure that there are no fake marriages in order to cheat pensions? There is an urgent need to establish supporting legal measures to ensure that the rights and interests of all parties are not infringed.
Taken together, the bill appears to be too rash and lacks the necessary rigor. Soldiers are loyal to the country, and the country should also be filial to their families. Therefore, we must take a more careful look at the rationale of this bill and its possible long-term implications.