Civil and Commercial Perspective | Can the testimony of the matchmaker be used as the basis for returning the bride price, and can the woman's parents be listed as defendants?
Published:
2024-06-17
The betrothal ceremony is held in accordance with local customs, usually inviting matchmakers and a small number of relatives and friends to participate, and the bride price is often delivered in cash. If they cannot get married in the end, when the two parties dissolve the marriage relationship, the parties to the marriage should be obliged to return the property appropriately after receiving the other party's property. Therefore, disputes involving the dissolution of the marriage contract and the return of the bride price are gradually increasing. The betrothal gift is mainly a large cash payment, the matchmaker's testimony can be used as evidence of the delivery of the betrothal gift, can the parents share the responsibility for the defendant to return it?
Introduction
The bride price, also known as "bride price" in some places, refers to a certain amount of cash given by the man to the woman at the pre-wedding engagement ceremony after the man and the woman have established a romantic relationship. The payment of bride price generally has a very strong sense of ceremony. The betrothal ceremony is held in accordance with local customs, usually inviting matchmakers and a small number of relatives and friends to participate, and the bride price is often delivered in cash. If they cannot get married in the end, when the two parties dissolve the marriage relationship, the parties to the marriage should be obliged to return the property appropriately after receiving the other party's property. Therefore, disputes involving the dissolution of the marriage contract and the return of the bride price are gradually increasing. The betrothal gift is mainly a large cash payment, the matchmaker's testimony can be used as evidence of the delivery of the betrothal gift, can the parents share the responsibility for the defendant to return it?
1. brief
Gao mou and Cui mou were introduced by matchmakers Wang mou and Gao mou. On October 10, 2023, Gao and Cui held an engagement ceremony. On the day of the engagement, Gao passed the witness of matchmaker Wang and Wang gave Cui's parents a gift of 88000 yuan, and Cui's parents returned 8000 yuan. In June 2024, the two had conflicts and Gao wanted to withdraw from their marriage. Now Gao mou asked whether he could return the bride price through litigation based on the testimony of matchmaker Wang mou, and whether he could list the woman's parents as defendants?
2. author's point of view
1. This case is a marriage property dispute. In this case, because the two parties did not go through the marriage registration procedures and did not live together, the court should support Gao's request for the return of the bride price if he wants to terminate the marriage contract.
2. A marriage contract is a prior agreement between a man and a woman for the purpose of marriage. According to the civil marriage contract, the male and female parties in the process of concluding a marriage include the property exchanges between the families of the two parties, commonly known as bride price. There are two main types of disputes over the return of betrothal gifts: one is that the marriage has been registered and lived together, but the time of living together is relatively short; the other is that the wedding is held only according to local customs, that is, living together but not registered. Gao and Cui belong to the second type. When Gao and Cui cannot get married, their marriage contract gift for the purpose of marriage is not protected by law.
3. In the dispute over the property of the marriage contract, the property payer who requests the return of the bride price shall bear the burden of proof on the property paid by him and the corresponding amount, and if the evidence cannot be given, the adverse consequences shall be borne.
(1) The payment of bride price is different from ordinary civil acts, because the parties seldom keep written evidence, once the two parties fail to conclude marriage after the payment of bride price, the return of bride price will become a real problem. It is difficult to prove the existence of bride price payment in litigation activities, and there is generally a lack of direct proof of payment.
(2) Specifically in this case, Gao can combine the withdrawal voucher and the witness testimony of the matchmaker to prove that the bride price has actually been delivered.
4. The amount of bride price paid or the value of property is often very large. Considering that if the two parties do not conclude a marriage relationship in the end, it will not only violate the original intention of the party paying the bride price, resulting in a heavier burden on the party, but also may encourage the phenomenon of obtaining property through marriage. Therefore, in the case of both men and women have not registered their marriage, they can request the return of the bride price.
5. According to the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Bifrite Disputes, "In a marriage contract property dispute, one party and the parents who actually paid the bride price can be co-plaintiffs; the other party and the parents who actually received the bride price can be co-defendants", Cui's parents received the bride price paid by Gao on behalf of his family, gao has the right to ask Cui and his parents to return the bride price together. In a divorce dispute, if one party files a claim for the return of the bride price, the parties are still the husband and wife.
Attached to relevant laws and regulations
(1) the People's Republic of China Civil Code
Article 10 Civil disputes shall be handled in accordance with the law; where there are no provisions in the law, customs may be applied, but public order and good customs shall not be violated.
Article 158 A civil juristic act may be subject to conditions, except where, by its nature, no conditions may be attached. A civil juristic act with conditions for its entry into force shall take effect when the conditions are fulfilled. A civil juristic act with a condition of discharge shall cease to be valid when the condition is fulfilled.
Article 657 A gift contract is a contract in which the donor gives his property to the donee free of charge, and the donee expresses acceptance of the gift.
Article 663 If the donee has one of the following circumstances, the donor may revoke the gift:
(I) seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the donor or close relatives of the donor;
The (II) does not perform the obligation to support the donor;
The (III) fails to perform its obligations under the gift contract.
The donor's right of revocation shall be exercised within one year from the date on which he knows or should have known the cause of revocation.
Article 985 Where a profiteering party obtains improper benefits without legal basis, the person who suffers the loss may request the profiteering party to return the benefits obtained, except in any of the following circumstances:
payments made by the (I) in fulfilment of a moral obligation;
(II) the liquidation of debts before maturity;
The liquidation of a debt by the (III) knowing that it is not under an obligation to pay.
Article 1042. Marriage arranged, buying and selling, and other acts that interfere with the freedom of marriage shall be prohibited. It is forbidden to solicit property by marriage.
Bigamy is prohibited. It is forbidden for a spouse to cohabit with another person.
Domestic violence is prohibited. Abuse and abandonment by family members are prohibited.
2. Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the the People's Republic of China Civil Code
Article 5 stipulates that if the parties request the return of the bride price paid in accordance with the custom, the people's court shall support it if it is found that it belongs to the following circumstances:
(I) both parties have not gone through the formalities of marriage registration;
(II) both parties go through the formalities of marriage registration but do not live together;
(III) premarital benefits and causing hardship to the payer.
The (IV) application of the provisions of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be conditional on the divorce of both parties.
3. Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases Involving Disputes over Boural Gift
Article 4 In a property dispute over a marriage contract, one of the parties to the marriage contract and the parents who actually paid the bride price may act as co-plaintiffs; the other party to the marriage contract and the parents who actually received the bride price may act as co-defendants.
In a divorce dispute, if one party files a claim for the return of the bride price, the parties are still the husband and wife.
4. the People's Republic of China Civil Procedure Law
Article 67 The parties shall have the responsibility to provide evidence for their claims.
The people's court shall investigate and collect the evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem are unable to collect on their own due to objective reasons, or the evidence that the people's court deems necessary for the trial of the case.
The people's court shall, in accordance with legal procedures, comprehensively and objectively examine and verify the evidence.
5, the Supreme People's Court on the application.<中华人民共和国民事诉讼法>the explanation."
Article 90 The parties shall provide evidence to prove the facts on which their claims are based or the facts on which the other party's claims are refuted, except as otherwise provided by law.
If the party fails to provide evidence or the evidence is insufficient to prove his claim of fact before the judgment is made, the party with the burden of proof shall bear the adverse consequences.
(Statement: This article is based on the author's experience summary of the point of view, only for the exchange of learning)
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