Marriage needs a beginning and an end, please do not remarry!

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Time: October 11, 2023 Author: News source: [Font size: large | in | Small 】

In recent years, with the development of economy and the improvement of living standards, people's ideas have also undergone tremendous changes, and a series of social problems have emerged. In terms of marriage and family, it seriously violates the faithful obligation between husband and wife, and the phenomenon of "cheating" and "cohabiting with others" is common. "Marriage safety" has become the focus of attention.

Relevant cases:

Recently, Wuwei handled a bigamy case for the Municipal People's Procuratorate. The suspect Zhang and Huang met in 1990. The next year, they got married under the witness of their parents, hosted a banquet and lived together. Around 2006, Zhang and Xuan met and lived together as husband and wife. In August 2011, Zhang and Xuan got married.

Q: The former marriage is a factual marriage, but can it constitute a bigamy crime to register marriage with others later?

According to Article 258 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, bigamy refers to the act of the perpetrator who has a spouse and marries another person, or the perpetrator who knows that another person already has a spouse and still marries him. This kind of behavior violates the "monogamy" system stipulated in the Civil Code of China.

There are two types of legal and valid marriage:

（1） Registered marriage refers to a marriage in which both men and women go through marriage registration procedures and obtain a marriage certificate in accordance with Article 1049 of the Civil Code.

（2） For factual marriage, the two parties did not go through marriage registration in accordance with the provisions of Article 1049 of the Civil Code, but lived together in the name of husband and wife. Before the promulgation and implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on February 1, 1994, the two parties had met the substantive requirements of marriage.

In this case, the suspect Zhang and Huang got married in 1991 under the witness of their parents, and arranged a banquet to live together in the name of husband and wife. The two of them have met the substantive requirements of marriage, and the marriage relationship was before February 1, 1994 The act of a person who has re registered marriage with another person constitutes the crime of bigamy.

The family should establish a good family style, carry forward family virtues, and attach importance to the construction of family civilization. Husband and wife should be faithful to each other, respect each other and care for each other. Family members should respect the old and love the young, help each other, and maintain equal, harmonious and civilized marriage and family relations. Bigamy not only violates public order and good customs, but also is severely punished by law.

Once determined to constitute bigamy, the following legal consequences may exist:

（1） Civil liability

First, according to Article 1051 of the Civil Code, if bigamy is determined, the marriage is invalid; Secondly, according to Article 1079 of the Civil Code, bigamy is a legal cause for divorce, and the victim can apply for divorce on this basis; Finally, if it is confirmed that one party's bigamy leads to divorce, the no fault party can claim damages from the bigamy party accordingly.

（2） Criminal responsibility

According to Article 258 of the Criminal Law, anyone who has a spouse and remarries, or knowingly marries another person with a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention. Therefore, the perpetrator may be subject to criminal punishment for bigamy.

Article 258 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that anyone who has a spouse and bigamy, or knowingly marries another person who has a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Article 1049 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China states that both men and women who require marriage shall apply for marriage registration in person at the marriage registration office. Where the provisions of this Law are met, the marriage relationship shall be established upon registration, issuance of marriage certificate and completion of marriage registration. If no marriage registration is handled, it shall be re registered.

In Article 1051 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, marriage is invalid under any of the following circumstances:

（1） Bigamy;

（2） Having kinship prohibited from marriage;

（3） Under the legal age of marriage.

Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China states that if one of the husband and wife requests divorce, relevant organizations may mediate or directly file a divorce lawsuit with the people's court. When hearing divorce cases, the people's courts shall conduct mediation; Divorce shall be granted if the relationship has really broken down and mediation has failed. Divorce shall be granted if mediation fails in any of the following circumstances:

（1） Bigamy or cohabitation with others; （2） Domestic violence or maltreatment or desertion of family members; （3） Gambling, drug abuse and other bad habits persist in teaching; （4） Two years of separation due to emotional discord; （5） Other situations that lead to the breakdown of the relationship between husband and wife. Divorce shall be granted if one party is declared missing and the other party files a divorce lawsuit. Divorce shall be granted if one party files a divorce lawsuit again after the people's court has ruled that divorce is not allowed and the two parties have lived apart for one year.

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