婚姻法解释（二）英文版

1、interpretations of the supreme peoples court on several issues concerning the application of the marriage law of the peoples republic of china (ii) promulgation date12-25-2003effective regionnational promulgatorthe supreme peoples court document nofa shi 2003 no. 19effectivenesseffectiveeffective da

2、te2004-04-01categorymarriage & family（civil law-marriage & family）interpretations of the supreme peoples court on several issues concerning the application of the marriage law of the peoples republic of china (ii) fa shi 2003 no. 19 december 25, 2003 announcement of the supreme peoples court the int

3、erpretations of the supreme peoples court on several issues concerning the application of the marriage law of the peoples republic of china (ii) was adopted by the judicial committee of the supreme peoples court at its no.1299 conference on december 4, 2003. it is hereby promulgated and shall come i

4、nto force as of april 1, 2004. the supreme peoples court december 25, 2003 interpretations of the supreme peoples court on several issues concerning the application of the marriage law of the peoples republic of china (ii) (adopted by the judicial committee of the supreme peoples court at its no.129

5、9 conference on december 4, 2003 fa shi 2003 no. 19) in order to properly adjudicate marriage and family dispute cases and in accordance with the marriage law of the peoples republic of china (hereinafter referred to as the marriage law), the civil procedure law of the peoples republic of china and

6、other pertinent laws and regulations, we hereby promulgate the following interpretations on several issues concerning the application of the marriage law by the peoples court: article 1 where a party concerned files a suit requesting for the annulment of cohabitation relationship, the peoples court

7、shall not accept it. provided that the foresaid cohabitation relationship is in compliance with the condition of one party who has a spouse cohabits with another person as specified in articles 3, 32 and 46 of the marriage law, the peoples court shall accept the suit and annul the cohabitation relat

8、ionship in accordance with the law. where a party concerned files a suit in respect of disputes over the partitioning of property or upbringing of children arising during the period of cohabitation, the peoples court shall accept the suit. article 2 where the peoples court accepts a suit of applicat

9、ion for declaration of the invalidation of a marriage proved to be invalid upon investigation and examination, the peoples court shall, in accordance with the law, make the judgment of declaring the marriage invalid. the application for the withdrawal thereof by the plaintiff shall not be approved.

10、article 3 where the peoples court accepts a divorce suit and the marriage is proved to be invalid upon investigation and examination, the peoples court shall inform the parties concerned of the invalidation of the marriage, and, in accordance with the law, make the judgment of declaring the marriage

11、 invalid. article 4 where the peoples court hears an invalid marriage suit in which the partitioning of property and upbringing of children are involved, the peoples court shall, in respect of the determination of the validity of the marriage and the handling of other disputes, respectively make jud

12、icial documents. article 5 where an living party or an interested party, in accordance with article 10 of the marriage law, files a suit to apply for the declaration of the invalidation of a marriage within one year after either party of the couple or both parties thereof die, the peoples court shal

13、l accept the suit. article 6 where an interested party, in accordance with article 10 of the marriage law, applies for the peoples courts declaration of the invalidation of a marriage, the interested party shall be the applicant while both parties to the marriage relationship shall be the respondent

14、s. where one party of the couple dies, the living party shall be the respondent. where both parties of the couple die, no one shall be the respondent. article 7 where the peoples court respectively accepts a divorce suit and a suit applying for the declaration of the invalidation of a marriage, whic

15、h is concerned with the same marriage relationship; it shall conduct the hearing of the divorce suit after making the judgment in respect of the suit applying for the declaration of the invalidation of the marriage. where marriage relationship referred to in the preceding paragraph is declared to be

16、 invalid, yet it involves the partitioning of property and upbringing of children, the peoples court shall continue the hearing thereof. article 8 the clauses in the divorce agreement related to the partitioning of property or the agreement in respect of the partitioning of property concluded by the

17、 parties concerned due to divorce is legally binding upon both man and woman. where the party concerned files a suit in respect of disputes over the performance of the foresaid property partitioning agreement, the peoples court shall accept the lawsuit. article 9 where both man and woman go back on

18、their word over the issue of partitioning of property and request for altering or annulling the partitioning of property agreement within one year after the divorce by agreement, the peoples court shall accept the lawsuit. where no deception or coercion is discovered in the conclusion of the propert

19、y partitioning agreement after the hearing of the peoples court, the litigious claim of the party concerned shall be rejected. article 10 where a party concerned requests for the return of betrothal gifts given in line with the custom, which is in compliance with any of the following conditions upon

20、 investigation, the peoples court shall give its support thereto: 1. both parties havent undergone the procedure of marriage registration; 2. both parties fail to cohabit even though they have undergone the procedure of marriage registration; or 3. the betrothal gifts are given prior to the marriage

21、 and this leads to the givers difficulty in living. the application of items 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be conditioned on divorce between both parties. article 11 during the period of the marriage relationship, the following property shall be classified as other property that shall be

22、jointly owned as specified in article 17 of the marriage law: 1. proceeds that one party acquires from investment of personal property; 2. housing subsidies and housing fund that both the man and woman have actually acquired or should acquire; and 3. insurance of old age pension and compensation for

23、 bankruptcy that both the man and woman have actually acquired or should acquire. article 12 proceeds from intellectual property specified in item 3 of article 17 of the marriage law shall refer to the property proceeds which has been actually acquired or may be definitely acquired during the period

24、 of the marriage relationship. article 13 a soldiers casualty insurance compensation, subsidies for disability, subsidies for medical payment and living expenses shall be classified as personal property. article 14 where the peoples court hears a divorce suit in which demobilization pay, payment for

25、 independently choosing profession and other one-off payment etc. given to a soldier are involved, the amount which is derived by multiplying the number of years of the marriage relationship by the annual average amount shall be jointly owned by the couple. the annual average amount in the preceding

26、 paragraph shall refer to the amount which is derived by averagely dividing the total amount of the foresaid payment to the soldier by the number of the specific years. the number of the specific years shall be the margin between seventy years which is the average lifespan and the actual age at whic

27、h the soldier is enrolled for military service. article 15 where no agreement can be reached through negotiation or there is difficulty in allotting them according to the market value in the partitioning of the couples jointly owned property such as stocks, bonds, investment fund shares and other ne

28、gotiable securities etc. as well as the shares of unlisted joint stock limited companies, the peoples court may partition the amount in proportion. article 16 where the peoples court hears a divorce suit which involves the partitioning of the couples jointly owned property such as the amount of capi

29、tal contribution in one partys name to a limited liability company, and the other party is not a shareholder of the foresaid company, the peoples court shall respectively handle the lawsuit according to the following situations: 1. where the couple, upon mutual consent through negotiation, partially

30、 or entirely transfer the amount of capital contribution to the shareholders spouse, and more than half of the shareholders agree thereto while the other shareholders expressly waive the pre-emptive right thereof, the shareholders spouse may become a shareholder of the company; or 2. where the coupl

31、e reach an agreement on the amount of capital contribution to be transferred in respect of the number of shares and the price, etc. through negotiation, yet more than half of the shareholders fail to agree thereto but agree to purchase the amount of capital contribution at the same price, the people

32、s court may partition the property derived from transferring the amount of capital contribution. where more than half of the shareholders fail to agree thereto but also fail to agree to purchase the amount of capital contribution at the same price, they shall be deemed as agreeing to the transferrin

33、g thereof and the shareholders spouse may become a shareholder of the company. the evidence used to prove that more than half of the shareholders agree thereto as specified in the preceding paragraph may be the resolutions of the shareholders meeting or the shareholders written statement obtained by

34、 the party concerned by any other lawful means. article 17 where the peoples court hears a divorce suit which involves the partitioning of the couples jointly owned property such as the capital contribution in one partys name to a partnership enterprise, while the other party is not a copartner of t

35、he foresaid enterprise, and the couple, upon mutual consent through negotiation, partially or entirely transfer the property shares in the partnership enterprise to the other party, the peoples court shall respectively handle the lawsuit according to the following situations: 1. where the other copa

36、rtners unanimously agree thereto, the spouse shall, in accordance with the law, obtain the status of a copartner; 2. where the other copartners fail to agree to the transfer thereof but perform their preemptive right under the same conditions, the peoples court may partition the property derived fro

37、m the transferring thereof; 3. where the other copartners fail to agree to the transfer thereof and also fail to perform their preemptive right, yet they agree to the withdrawal from the partnership of the copartner or to return part of the property shares, the peoples court may partition the return

38、ed property shares; or 4. where the other copartners fail to agree to the transfer thereof, and fail to perform their preemptive right, and also fail to agree to the withdrawal from the partnership of the copartner or to return part of the property shares, they shall be deemed as agreeing to the tra

39、nsfer thereof and the spouse shall, in accordance with the law, obtain the status of a copartner. article 18 where the couple invest on a sole proprietorship enterprise in one partys name, the peoples court, when partitioning the couples jointly owned property in the sole proprietorship enterprise,

40、shall respectively handle the lawsuit according to the following situations: 1. where one party claims for running the enterprise, the party who obtains the enterprise shall give corresponding compensation to the other party after the evaluation of the enterprise assets is conducted; 2. where both p

41、arties claim for running the enterprise, then on the basis of the competitive bidding of both parties, the party who obtains the enterprise shall give corresponding compensation to the other party; or 3. where neither of the parties is willing to run the enterprise, the peoples court shall handle th

42、e lawsuit in accordance with the sole proprietorship enterprise law of the peoples republic of china and other relevant provisions. article 19 where the house is rented before marriage and purchased after marriage with jointly owned property by one party and the house ownership certificate is regist

43、ered under one partys name, the house shall be deemed as the couples jointly owned property. article 20 where both parties fail to reach an agreement on the couples jointly owned property in respect of the value and ownership of the house, the peoples court shall respectively handle the lawsuit acco

44、rding to the following situations: 1. where both parties claim for the ownership of the house and agree to obtain the ownership through competitive bidding, it shall be approved; 2. where only one party claims for the ownership of the house, the party who obtains the ownership shall give correspondi

45、ng compensation to the other party after the houses value is assessed according to the market price by assessment institutions; or 3. where neither of the party claims for the ownership of the house, then upon the application of the parties concerned for the auction of the house, the peoples court s

46、hall partition the money gained therefrom. article 21 where both parties have disputes over and fail to reach an agreement on the house whose ownership has not been acquired or has not been completely acquired upon divorce, it is not suitable for the peoples court to make judgment of the ascription

47、of the ownership of the house, instead, the peoples court shall, according to the actual situation, make the judgment of which party concerned shall enjoy the right of use of the house. where a party concerned has disputes over the ownership of the house as specified in the preceding paragraph after

48、 its complete ownership has been acquired, the party concerned may separately file a suit to the peoples court. article 22 where the parents of a party concerned spend money on purchasing a house for both parties before marriage, such money shall be deemed as individual bestowal by the parents upon

49、their own child, unless the parents otherwise expressly state that the bestowal is bestowed upon both parties. where the parents of a party concerned spend money on purchasing a house for both parties after marriage, such money shall be deemed as bestowal upon both parties, unless the parents otherw

50、ise expressly state that the bestowal is only bestowed upon one party. article 23 where a creditor claims for its right against the spouse of a debtor in respect of the personal debt that the debtor bears before marriage, the peoples court shall not give its support thereto unless the creditor can p

51、rove that the debt is used for the co-living expenses of the family after marriage. article 24 where a creditor claims for the debt that one party of the couple bears in its own name during the period of the marriage relationship, the debt shall be treated as jointly- borne debt of the couple, unles

52、s one party of the couple can prove that the creditor and the debtor have agreed expressly on the debt being personal debt, or that the debt is under one of the circumstances provided in clause 3 of article 19 of the marriage law. article 25 where the divorce agreement of the parties concerned or th

53、e judgment paper, ruling, or mediation letter issued by the peoples court have already made a decision on the partitioning of the couples jointly owned property, the creditor shall still enjoy the right of claiming for its right against both the man and woman in respect of the jointly- borne debt of the couple. where one party, after it bears th