Controversies Over New Judicial Interpretations of the Marriage Law

By staff reporter LI YUAN

The Marriage Law, promulgated in 1950, was the first law of the People's Republic of China. On August 13, 2011, the Supreme People's Court released Interpretations No. III About the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China. Some articles of this statute have aroused widespread concerns and triggered controversies in all walks of life.

In Chinese culture, the groom's family is obliged to buy a home for the young couple before the marriage. CFP

Fairness Emphasized

Liu Hui is a young kindergarten teacher in Beijing. Recently she had a rather baffling encounter with the new judicial interpretations.

She and her fiancé had planned to marry at the end of the year. The couple decided to buy a small secondhand apartment into which they could move without too much fuss. Her boyfriend would make the down payment. However, Liu's understanding of the new interpretation of the application of the Marriage Law made her think: if she didn't register her name on the ownership certificate of the apartment before marriage, she would not be entitled to a portion of this property in the event of divorce.

As it happens, Liu's concerns are not groundless. Article 10 of the new interpretations stipulates, "If one party of the married couple signs the purchase contract of a real estate property and makes the down payment with his or her savings prior to marriage, and the couple jointly repay the mortgage within the marriage, in case of divorce, the couple should negotiate to divide the property; if they can't reach an agreement, the people's court may rule that the party that registered the property will continue to own it.

Liu consulted the Department of Housing Management about adding her name to the property ownership certificate after they get married, and received the reply that she had to meet two requirements before adding her name. The first is that the mortgage has been repaid in full, and the second is that the property ownership certificate has already been issued. She felt it was impracticable to add her name on the property ownership certificate after they get married as it would take them several decades to pay off the mortgage.

One of her best friends advised her to arrange a pre-nuptial property notarization. However the reply from the Notary Office failed to comfort her: "Without being in a state of matrimony, you are not legally related to each other and thus the apartment cannot be notarized as common property. As for the property partition agreement, it can be signed and notarized only after getting married under the premise that the bank mortgage on the property has been repaid in full and the property ownership certificate has been issued."