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Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China
Adopted at the Third Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on September 10,1980,and amended in accordance
with " Decision Regarding the Amendment (of Marriage Law of the People's Republic of
China) "passed at 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 28,2001
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Marriage Contract
Chapter III Family Relations
Chapter IV Divorce
Chapter V Succour Measures and Legal Liability
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1This Law is the Fundamental code governing marriage and family relations.
Article 2 A marriage system based on the free choice of partners, on monogamy and on equality between man and woman shall be applied.
The lawful rights and interests of women, children and old people shall be protected.
Family planning shall be practised.
Article 3 Marriage upon arbitrary decision by any
third party, mercenary marriage and any other acts of interference in the freedom of marriage shall be prohibited. The exaction of money or gifts in
connection with marriage shall be prohibited. Bigamy shall be prohibited. Cohabitation of a
married person with any third party shall be prohibited. Domestic violence shall be prohibited.
Within the family maltreatment and desertion of one family member by another shall be prohibited.
Article 4Husband and wife shall be faithful to and respect each other. Within the family family members shall respect the old and cherish the young, help one another, and maintain equal, harmonious and civilized marriage and family relations.
Chapter II Marriage Contract
Article 5 Marriage must by based upon the complete willingness of both man and woman. Neither party may use compulsion on the other party and no third party may
interfere.
Article 6 No marriage may be contracted before the man has reached 22 years of age and the woman 20 years of age. Late marriage and late childbirth shall be
encouraged.
Article 7 No marriage may be contracted under any of the
following circumstances:
(1)if the man and the woman are lineal relatives by blood, or collateral relatives by blood up to
the third degree of kinship; and
(2)if the man or the woman is suffering from any disease, which is regarded by medical science as
rendering a person unfit for marriage.
Article 8Both 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 acquire the marriage certificates.
In the absence of the marriage registration, the
man and the woman shall go through the procedures
subsequently.Article 9After 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.Article
10Marriage shall be invalid under any of the
following circumstances:
(1)if one party commits bigamy;
(2)if the man and the woman are relatives by blood
up to the third degree of kinship;
(3)if, before marriage, one party is suffering
from a disease which is regarded by medical
science as rendering a person unfit for marriage
and, after marriage, a cure is not effected; and
(4)if the legally marriageable age is not
attained.
Article 11In the case of a marriage made under
coercion, the coerced party may make a request to
the marriage registration office or the people's
court for the dissolution of the marriage
contract. Such a request shall be made within one
year as of the marriage registration date. The
party concerned whose personal freedom is curbed
illegitimately shall make a request for
dissolution of the marriage contract within one
year as of the date on which his or her personal
freedom is restored.Article 12Void or dissolved
marriage shall be invalid from its inception.
Neither party concerned shall have the rights and
duties of husband or wife. The property acquired
during their cohabitation shall be subject to
disposition by mutual agreement. If they fail to
reach an agreement, the people's court shall give
a ruling on the principle of caring for the
no-fault party. The disposition of the property of
void marriage caused by bigamy may not be to the
detriment of the property rights and interests of
the party concerned to the lawful marriage. The
provisions of this Law regarding parents and
children shall apply to the children born from the
parties concerned.
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Chapter III Family Relations
Article 13Husband and wife shall have equal status
in the family.Article 14Both husband and wife
shall have the right to use his or her own surname
and given name.Article 15Both husband and wife
shall have the freedom to engage in production and
other work, to study and to participate in social
activities; neither party may restrict or
interfere with the other party.Article 16Both
husband and wife shall have the duty to practise
family planning.
Article 17
The following items of property acquired by
husband and wife during the period in which they
are under contract of marriage shall be jointly
possessed:
(1)pay and bonus;
(2)earnings from production and operation;
(3)earnings from intellectual property rights;
(4)property obtained from inheritance of gift
except as provided for in Article 18(3) of this
Law; and
(5)Any other items of property which shall be in
his or her separate possession.
Article 19So far as the property acquired during
the period in which they are under contract of
marriage and the prenuptial property are
concerned, husband and wife may agree as to
whether they should be in the separate possession,
joint possession or partly separate possession and
partly joint possession. The agreement shall be
made in writing. The provisions of Articles 17 and
18 of this Law shall apply to the absence of such
an agreement or to a vague one.
The agreement reached between the husband and wife
on the property acquired during the period in
which they are under contract of marriage and on
the prenuptial property is binding on both
parties.
If husband and wife agree, as is known to the
third party, to separately possess their property
acquired during their marriage life, the debt owed
by the husband or the wife to any other person,
shall be paid off out of the property separately
possessed by him or her.
Article 20Husband and wife shall have the duty to
maintain each other.
If one party fails to perform this duty, the party
in need of maintenance shall have the right to
demand maintenance payments from the other party.
Article 21Parents shall have the duty to bring up
and educate their children; children shall have
the duty to support and assist their parents.
If parents fail to perform their duty, children
who are minors or who are incapable of living on
their own shall have the right to demand the cost
of upbringing from their parents.
If children fail to perform their duty, parents
who are unable to work or have difficulties in
providing for themselves shall have the right to
demand support payments from their children.
Infant drowning, deserting and any other acts
causing serious harm to infants and infanticide
shall be prohibited.
Article 22Children may adopt their father's or
their mother's surname.Article 23Parents shall
have the right and duty to subject their children
who are minors to discipline and to protect them.
If children who are minors cause damage to the
state, the collective, or individuals, their
parents shall have the duty to bear civil
liability.Article 24Husband and wife shall have
the right to inherit each other's property.
Parents and children shall have right to inherit
each other's property.
Article 25Children born out of wedlock shall enjoy
the same rights as children born in wedlock. No
one may harm or discriminate against them.
The natural father or the natural mother who does
not rear directly his or her child born out of
wedlock shall bear the child's living and
educational expenses until the child can support
himself or herself.
Article 26The state shall protect lawful adoption.
The relevant provisions of this Law governing the
relationship between parents and children shall
apply to the rights and duties in the relationship
between foster parents and foster children.
The right and duties in the relationship between a
foster child and his or her natural parents shall
terminate with the establishment of this adoption.
Article 27Maltreatment or discrimination shall not
be permitted between stepparents and stepchildren.
The relevant provisions in this Law governing the
relationship between parents and children shall
apply to the rights and duties in the relationship
between stepfathers or stepmothers and their
stepchildren who receive care and education from
them.
Article 28Grandparents or maternal grandparents
who can afford it shall have the duty to bring up
their grandchildren or maternal grandchildren who
are minors and whose parents are dead or have no
capacity of bringing them up. Grandchildren or
maternal grandchildren who can afford it shall
have the duty to support their grandparents or
maternal grandparents whose children are dead or
cannot afford it.Article 29Elder brothers or elder
sisters who can afford it shall have the duty to
bring up their younger brothers or sisters who are
minors if their parents are dead or have no means
to bring them up. Younger brothers or sisters who
have been brought up by their elder brothers or
elder sisters and have the means of maintenance
shall have the duty to support them who are
lacking in the capacity to work and in the source
of income.Article 30Children shall have respect
for their parents' matrimonial rights and shall
not interfere in their parents' remarriage and
postnuptial life. Children's duty to maintain
their parents shall not terminate with the change
in their parents' matrimonial relationship.
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Chapter IV Divorce
Article 31Divorce shall be granted if husband and
wife both desire it. Both parties shall apply to
the marriage registration office for divorce. The
marriage registration office, after clearly
establishing that divorce is desired by both
parties and that appropriate arrangements have
been made for the care of any children and the
disposition of property, shall issue the divorce
certificates.
Article 32
When one party alone desires a divorce, the
organizations concerned may carry out mediation,
or the party may appeal directly to a people's
court to start divorce proceedings.
In dealing with a divorce case, the people's court
should carry out mediation between the parties.
Divorce shall be granted if mediation fails
because mutual affection no long exists.
Divorce shall be granted if mediation fails under
any of the following circumstances:
(1)bigamy or, cohabitation of a married person
with any third party;
(2)domestic violence or, maltreatment and
desertion of one family member by another;
(3)bad habits of gamble or drug addiction which
remain incorrigible despite repeated admonition;
(4)separation caused by incompatibility, which
lasts two full years; and
(5)any other circumstances causing alienation of
mutual affection.
Divorce shall be granted if one party is declared
to be missing and the other party thereby files an
action for divorce.
Article 33If the spouse of a soldier in active
military service desires a divorce, the soldier's
consent must b e obtained, except that the soldier
commits a serious fault.Article 34A husband may
not apply for a divorce when his wife is pregnant
or within one year after the birth of a child or
within six months after pregnancy suspension. This
restriction shall not apply in cases where the
wife applies for a divorce, or when the people's
court deems it necessary to accept the divorce
application made by the husband.Article 35If,
after divorce, both parties desire to resume their
husband-and-wife relationship, they shall register
for the remarrying of each other with the marriage
registration office.Article 36The relationship
between parents and children shall not come to and
end with the parents' divorce. After divorce,
whether the children are put in the custody of the
father or the mother, they shall remain the
children of both parents.
After divorce, both parents shall still have the
right and duty to bring up and educate their
children.
In principle the mother shall have the custody of
a breast-fed infant after divorce. If a dispute
arises between the two parties over the custody of
their child who has been weaned and they fail to
reach an agreement, the people's court shall make
a judgment in accordance with the rights and
interests of the child and the actual conditions
of both parents.
Article 37If, after divorce, one party has been
given custody of a child, the other parent shall
bear part or the whole of the child's necessary
living and educational expenses. The two parties
shall agreement regarding the amount and duration
of such payment. If they fail to reach an
agreement, the people's court shall make a
judgment.
The agreement or the court judgment on a child's
living and educational expenses shall not prevent
the child from making a reasonable request, when
necessary, to either parent for an amount
exceeding what was decided upon in the said
agreement or judgment.
Article 38After divorce, the father or the mother
who does not rear their children directly shall
have the right to visit them, while the other
party shall have the duty to give assistance.
The parents shall reach an agreement about how and
when to exercise the right of visit. If they fail
to reach an agreement, the people's court shall
make a judgement.
If the father or the mother visits their children
to the detriment of their mental and physical
health, a people's court shall suspend the right
of visit according to law; and such a right shall
be restored after the main content of the
suspension disappears.
Article 39At the time of divorce, the disposition
of the property in the joint possession of husband
and wife is subject to agreement between the two
parties. In cases where an agreement cannot be
reached, the people's court shall make a judgement
in consideration of the actual circumstance of the
property and on the principle of caring for the
rights and interests of the wife and the child or
children.
The rights and interests enjoyed by husband or
wife in the operation of land under a contract
based on the household shall be protected
according to law.
Article 40According to a couple's written
agreement, the items of property acquired during
their marriage are in the separate possession. In
this connection, if one party performs more duties
in rearing their children, looking after their
elders and assisting the other party in work, he
or she shall have the right at the time of divorce
to request compensation from the other party who
shall make the compensation.Article 41At the time
of divorce, debts incurred by the husband and wife
during their marriage shall be paid off out of
their jointly possessed property. If such property
is insufficient to pay off the debts or, the items
of the property are in the separate possession,
the two parties shall work out an agreement with
regard to the payment. If they fail to reach an
agreement, the people's court shall make a
judgment.Article 42If, at the time of divorce, one
party has difficulties supporting himself or
herself, the other party shall render appropriate
help from her or his personal property such as a
dwelling house. Specific arrangements shall be
made between both parties through consultation. If
they fail to reach an agreement, the people's
court shall make a judgement.
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Chapter V Succour Measures and Legal Liability
Article 43In regard to the domestic violence to or
maltreatment of family member(s), the victim shall
have the right to make a request, and the
neighborhood or villager committee as well as the
units in which the parties concerned work shall
dissuade the wrongdoer, and offer mediation.
In regard to the domestic violence being
committed, the victim shall have the right to make
a request, the neighborhood or villager committee
shall dissuade the wrongdoer, and the public
security organ shall stop the violence.
If, in regard to the domestic violence to or
maltreatment of family member(s), the victim makes
a request, the public security organ shall subject
the wrongdoer to administrative penalty in
accordance with the relevant provisions of
administrative sanctions for public order.
Article 44In regard to the desertion of one family
member by another, the victim shall have the right
to make a request, and the neighborhood or
villager committee as well as the units in which
the parties concerned work shall dissuade the
wrongdoer and offer mediation.
If, in regard to the desertion of one family
member by another, the victim makes a request, the
people's court shall pass a judgment on the
effecting of maintenance, upbringing and support
payments according to law.
Article 45If bigamy, domestic violence to or
maltreatment and desertion of family member(s)
constitute a crime, the criminal responsibility of
the wrongdoer shall be investigated according to
law. The victim may institute a voluntary
prosecution in a people's court in accordance with
the relevant provisions of the criminal procedure
law. The public security organ shall investigate
the case according to law and the people's
procuratorate shall initiate a public prosecution
according to law.Article 46A no-fault party shall
have the right to make a request for damage
compensation under any of the following
circumstances bringing about divorce:
(1)bigamy;
(2)cohabitation of a married person with any third
party;
(3)domestic violence; and
(4)maltreatment and desertion of one family member
by another.
Article 47When the couple's joint property is
divided, the party may get smaller or no share of the property if he or she conceals, transfers,
sells off, destroys the couple's joint property, or forges debts in an attempt to convert the other
party's property at the time of divorce. After divorce, the other party, on finding the
above-mentioned acts, may file an action in a people's court, and make a request for another
division of the couple's joint property. Regarding the acts to the prejudice of the civil
litigation that are specified in the preceding paragraph, the people's court shall subject the wrongdoer to the punishment according to the provisions of the civil procedure law.
Article 48 In cases where the person refuses to abide by judgements or rulings on maintenance,
upbringing or support payments, or on the division or inheritance of property, or on visits to children, the people's court shall enforce the execution of the judgements or rulings according
to law. The individuals and units concerned shall have the duty to assist such
executions.
Article 49Where laws provide otherwise against illegal acts and for legal liability in regard to marriage
and family, the provisions in such laws shall apply.
Chapter VI Supplimentary Provisions
Article 50The people's congresses in national autonomous areas shall have the right to formulate
certain adaptations in the light of the specific conditions of the local nationalities in regard to
marriage and family. Provisions of adaptations formulated by autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties must be submitted to the standing committee of the people's congress of the relevant province or autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government for approval. Provisions of adaptations formulated by autonomous regions must be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record.
Article 51 This Law shall come into force as of January 1, 1981.
The Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China promulgated on May 1, 1950 shall be invalidated as of the day this Law comes into force.
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