Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Revision of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
April 28, 2001
(Adopted at the 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 28, 2001)
It is decided at the 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress to amend the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China as follows:
I. Paragraph 2 of Article 3 shall be revised to read: "Bigamy shall be prohibited. Anyone who has a spouse shall be prohibited to cohabit with another person of the opposite sex. Family violence shall be prohibited. Maltreatment and desertion of one family member by another shall be prohibited."
II. A new Article 4 shall be added to read: "Husband and wife shall be loyal to each other and respect each other; family members shall respect the old and cherish the young, help each other, and maintain the marriage and family relationship characterized by equality, harmony and civility."
III. Article 6 shall be renumbered as Article 7, and Sub-paragraph (2) thereof shall be revised to read: "if the man or the woman is suffering from any disease which is regarded by medical science as rending a person unfit for marriage."
IV. Article 7 shall be renumbered as Article 8 and shall be revised to read: "Both the man and the woman desiring to contract a marriage shall register in person with the marriage registration office. If the proposed marriage is found to conform with the provisions of this Law, the couple shall be allowed to register and issued marriage certificates. The husband-and-wife relationship shall be established as soon as they obtain the marriage certificates. A couple shall go through marriage registration if it has not done so."
V. Article 8 shall be renumbered as Article 9 and revised to read: "After a marriage has been registered, the woman may become a member of the man's family or vice versa, depending on the agreed wishes of the two parties."
VI. One article shall be added as Article 10 to read: "The marriage shall be invalid if:
1. either of the married parties commits bigamy;
2. there is the prohibited degree of kinship between the married parties;
3. before marriage either of the parties is suffering from a disease which is regarded by medical science as rending a person unfit for marriage and which has not yet been cured after marriage; or
4. one of the married parties has not reached the statutory age for marriage."
VII. One article shall be added as Article 11 to read: "Where marriage is contracted by coercion, the coerced party may appeal to the marriage registration office or the People's Court for annulment of such marriage. Such an appeal for annulment of marriage made by the coerced party shall be submitted within one year from the date of marriage registration. Where the party concerned whose personal freedom is illegally restrained, such an appeal for annulment of marriage shall be submitted within one year from the date of the restoration of the personal freedom."
VIII. One article shall be added as Article 12 to read: "Any marriage that is invalidated or annulled is null and void from the very beginning. The parties concerned are devoid of any rights or duties of a husband and a wife. The property acquired by them during the period of their cohabitation shall be disposed of by agreement between the parties; if they fail to reach an agreement, the People's Court shall make a judgment on the principle of giving consideration to the unerring party. Where property is to be disposed of because marriage is invalidated as a result of bigamy, the rights and interests in respect of the property enjoyed by the party under lawful contract of marriage may not be encroached on.
......
April 28, 2001
(Adopted at the 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 28, 2001)
It is decided at the 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress to amend the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China as follows:
I. Paragraph 2 of Article 3 shall be revised to read: "Bigamy shall be prohibited. Anyone who has a spouse shall be prohibited to cohabit with another person of the opposite sex. Family violence shall be prohibited. Maltreatment and desertion of one family member by another shall be prohibited."
II. A new Article 4 shall be added to read: "Husband and wife shall be loyal to each other and respect each other; family members shall respect the old and cherish the young, help each other, and maintain the marriage and family relationship characterized by equality, harmony and civility."
III. Article 6 shall be renumbered as Article 7, and Sub-paragraph (2) thereof shall be revised to read: "if the man or the woman is suffering from any disease which is regarded by medical science as rending a person unfit for marriage."
IV. Article 7 shall be renumbered as Article 8 and shall be revised to read: "Both the man and the woman desiring to contract a marriage shall register in person with the marriage registration office. If the proposed marriage is found to conform with the provisions of this Law, the couple shall be allowed to register and issued marriage certificates. The husband-and-wife relationship shall be established as soon as they obtain the marriage certificates. A couple shall go through marriage registration if it has not done so."
V. Article 8 shall be renumbered as Article 9 and revised to read: "After a marriage has been registered, the woman may become a member of the man's family or vice versa, depending on the agreed wishes of the two parties."
VI. One article shall be added as Article 10 to read: "The marriage shall be invalid if:
1. either of the married parties commits bigamy;
2. there is the prohibited degree of kinship between the married parties;
3. before marriage either of the parties is suffering from a disease which is regarded by medical science as rending a person unfit for marriage and which has not yet been cured after marriage; or
4. one of the married parties has not reached the statutory age for marriage."
VII. One article shall be added as Article 11 to read: "Where marriage is contracted by coercion, the coerced party may appeal to the marriage registration office or the People's Court for annulment of such marriage. Such an appeal for annulment of marriage made by the coerced party shall be submitted within one year from the date of marriage registration. Where the party concerned whose personal freedom is illegally restrained, such an appeal for annulment of marriage shall be submitted within one year from the date of the restoration of the personal freedom."
VIII. One article shall be added as Article 12 to read: "Any marriage that is invalidated or annulled is null and void from the very beginning. The parties concerned are devoid of any rights or duties of a husband and a wife. The property acquired by them during the period of their cohabitation shall be disposed of by agreement between the parties; if they fail to reach an agreement, the People's Court shall make a judgment on the principle of giving consideration to the unerring party. Where property is to be disposed of because marriage is invalidated as a result of bigamy, the rights and interests in respect of the property enjoyed by the party under lawful contract of marriage may not be encroached on.
......