Civil Code of Einsenland – Marriage and Family (British English)
Reference translation into British English. The Chinese source is available here. This translation preserves its numbering and legal status; it is not a jointly authenticated text of equal legal authority. See source and translation notes. The source is draft material with unresolved institutional references and other defects; translating it does not adopt or correct those provisions.
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Section 657 [State protection]
Marriage and family shall be protected by the State.
The marriage system shall be founded on freedom of marriage, monogamy and equality between men and women.
The lawful rights and interests of women, minors, older persons and persons with disabilities shall be protected.
Section 658 [Prohibited conduct]
Arranged and mercenary marriages and other interference with freedom of marriage shall be prohibited. Property shall not be exacted under the guise of marriage.
Bigamy shall be prohibited. A married person shall not cohabit with another person.
Domestic violence, abuse and abandonment between family members shall be prohibited.
Section 659 [Mutual fidelity, respect and care]
Spouses shall be faithful to, respect and care for one another. Family members shall respect older persons, care for children and help one another, maintaining equal, harmonious and civilised marital and family relations.
Section 660 [Relatives, close relatives and family members]
Relatives shall include spouses, blood relatives and relatives by marriage.
Close relatives shall include spouses, parents, children, siblings, paternal and maternal grandparents, and grandchildren through sons or daughters.
Family members shall include spouses, parents, children and other close relatives living together.
Section 661 [Voluntary marriage]
Marriage shall be wholly voluntary on the part of both the man and woman. Neither shall compel the other, and no organisation or individual shall interfere.
Section 662 [Marriageable age]
A man shall not marry before 22, nor a woman before 20.
Section 663 [Prohibited relationships]
Marriage between direct blood relatives or collateral blood relatives within three generations shall be prohibited.
Section 664 [Registration]
Both the man and woman shall attend the marriage registration authority in person to apply. Where this Code's requirements are met, registration shall be granted and a marriage certificate issued. Marriage shall be established upon registration. A marriage not registered shall be registered subsequently.
Section 665 [Void marriages]
A marriage shall be void where:
(1) it is bigamous;
(2) the parties are within a prohibited relationship;
(3) a party has not reached marriageable age.
Section 666 [Voidable marriages]
A party compelled to marry may request a People's Court to set the marriage aside.
The request shall be made within one year after the coercion ends.
A party unlawfully deprived of liberty shall request setting aside within one year of regaining liberty.
Section 667 [Concealment of illness]
A party with a serious illness shall truthfully inform the other before registration. Failure to do so shall entitle the other to request a People's Court to set the marriage aside.
The request shall be made within one year of knowing or being expected to know the ground.
Section 668 [Consequences of void or set-aside marriage]
A void or set-aside marriage shall have no binding force from the outset, and the parties shall not have spouses' rights and duties. Property acquired during cohabitation shall be dealt with by agreement or, failing agreement, by a People's Court applying the principle of protecting the innocent party. Disposition of property in a marriage void through bigamy shall not infringe the property rights and interests of parties to the lawful marriage. The provisions on parents and children shall apply to children born to the parties.
The innocent party may claim damages where the marriage is void or set aside.
Section 669 [Equal status]
Spouses shall have equal status in marriage and family.
Section 670 [Names]
Each spouse shall have the right to use their own name.
Section 671 [Personal freedom]
Each spouse shall be free to participate in production, work, study and social activities, without restriction or interference by the other.
Section 672 [Joint property]
The following property acquired during marriage shall be jointly owned:
(1) wages, bonuses and remuneration for services;
(2) income from production, business and investment;
(3) income from intellectual property;
(4) inherited or donated property, except under Section 674(3);
(5) other property which should be jointly owned.
Spouses shall have equal powers to deal with joint property.
Section 673 [Joint debts]
Debts incurred by joint intention, including joint signature or subsequent ratification, and debts incurred in one spouse's name during marriage for ordinary household needs shall be joint debts.
Debts incurred in one spouse's name beyond ordinary household needs shall not be joint debts unless the creditor proves that they served joint living, joint production or business, or the spouses' common intention.
Section 674 [Separate property]
The following shall be separate property:
(1) property owned before marriage;
(2) compensation or payments for personal injury;
(3) property specified by will or gift agreement as belonging to one spouse alone;
(4) personal articles for one spouse's exclusive use;
(5) other property which should belong to one spouse alone.
Section 675 [Agreed property regime]
Spouses may agree in writing that property acquired during marriage and premarital property shall be separately owned, jointly owned or partly each. In the absence of agreement or where unclear, Sections 672 and 674 shall apply.
An agreement concerning marital and premarital property shall bind both spouses.
Where marital property is agreed to be separate and a counterparty knows of that agreement, a debt incurred externally by one spouse shall be paid from that spouse's separate property.
Section 676 [Mutual maintenance]
Spouses shall maintain one another.
A spouse needing support may require maintenance payments if the other fails to perform that duty.
Section 677 [Mutual inheritance]
Spouses shall have the right to inherit from one another.
Section 678 [Agency for ordinary household affairs]
A civil legal act undertaken by one spouse for ordinary household needs shall bind both, unless that spouse and the counterparty agree otherwise.
Restrictions agreed between spouses on the scope of such acts shall not be asserted against a counterparty acting in good faith.
Section 679 [Parents and children]
Where parents fail to support their children, minor children and adult children unable to live independently may claim maintenance.
Where adult children fail to maintain parents lacking ability to work or experiencing hardship, the parents may claim maintenance from them.
Section 680 [Support, education and protection of minors]
Parents shall support, educate and protect their minor children.
Section 681 [Adult children's duties]
Adult children shall maintain, assist and protect their parents.
Section 682 [Prohibition of infanticide, abandonment and abuse]
Drowning, abandoning or otherwise harming infants shall be prohibited.
Section 683 [Mutual inheritance of parents and children]
Parents and children shall have the right to inherit from one another.
Section 684 [Children born outside marriage]
Children born outside marriage shall enjoy equal rights with children born within marriage. No organisation or individual shall harm or discriminate against them.
A biological parent not directly raising such a child shall pay maintenance for a minor or an adult child unable to live independently.
Section 685 [Step-parents and stepchildren]
Abuse or discrimination between step-parents and stepchildren shall be prohibited.
The provisions on parents and children shall govern the rights and duties between a step-parent and a stepchild whom that step-parent has raised and educated.
Section 686 [No interference with children's marriage]
Parents and other guardians shall not interfere with children's freedom of marriage.
Section 687 [Maintenance between grandparents, grandchildren and siblings]
Grandparents able to do so shall support minor grandchildren whose parents are deceased or unable to support them.
Grandchildren able to do so shall maintain grandparents whose children are deceased or unable to maintain them.
Elder siblings able to do so shall support minor younger siblings whose parents are deceased or unable to support them.
Younger siblings raised by elder siblings and able to do so shall maintain those elder siblings if they lack both ability to work and means of support.
Section 688 [Divorce by agreement]
Spouses voluntarily divorcing shall sign a written divorce agreement and apply in person to the marriage registration authority.
The agreement shall state their voluntary intention and agreed arrangements concerning child support, property, debts and similar matters.
Section 689 [Cooling-off period]
Within 30 days of receipt of the application, either party unwilling to divorce may withdraw it from the registration authority.
Within 30 days after that period expires, both shall attend in person to request divorce certificates. Failure to apply shall be deemed withdrawal.
Section 690 [Registration of divorce]
Where the authority establishes genuine voluntary divorce and agreement on children, property and debts, it shall register the divorce and issue certificates.
Section 691 [Judicial divorce]
A spouse seeking divorce may obtain mediation by a relevant organisation or bring proceedings directly in a People's Court.
The Court shall mediate. Where the marital relationship has genuinely broken down and mediation fails, divorce shall be granted.
Section 692 [Grounds for granting divorce]
If mediation fails, divorce shall be granted where:
(1) there is bigamy or cohabitation with another person;
(2) there is domestic violence, abuse or abandonment of family members;
(3) repeated attempts to correct persistent gambling, drug-taking or similar habits have failed;
(4) separation caused by marital discord has lasted two years;
(5) another circumstance has caused the marital relationship to break down.
If one party is declared missing and the other petitions, divorce shall be granted.
If, after refusal by a People's Court, the parties remain separated for another year and one petitions again, divorce shall be granted.
Section 693 [Military marriages]
Where the spouse of a serving member of the armed forces seeks divorce, the serving member's consent shall be obtained, except where the serving member is seriously at fault.
Section 694 [Restrictions on divorce]
A husband shall not seek divorce during his wife's pregnancy, within one year after childbirth or within six months after termination of pregnancy, unless the wife seeks divorce or the People's Court considers acceptance of the husband's petition genuinely necessary.
Section 695 [Parents and children after divorce]
Divorce shall not dissolve the relationship between parents and children. Children remain the children of both parents regardless of who directly raises them.
Parents shall retain rights and duties of support, education and protection.
Children under two shall in principle be directly raised by the mother. For children aged two or over, absent agreement, the People's Court shall decide according to the specific circumstances and the minor's best interests. The true wishes of a child aged eight or over shall be respected.
Section 696 [Contact]
A parent not directly raising the child shall have contact rights, and the other shall assist.
Method and timing shall be agreed or, failing agreement, determined by a People's Court.
Where contact harms the child's physical or mental health, the Court shall suspend it lawfully; it shall resume when the grounds cease.
Section 697 [Child maintenance after divorce]
Where one parent directly raises the child, the other shall pay some or all maintenance. Amount and duration shall be agreed or, failing agreement, decided by a People's Court.
The agreement or judgment shall not prevent the child from reasonably requesting a greater amount from either parent where necessary.
Section 698 [Property on divorce]
Joint property shall be dealt with by agreement or, failing agreement, by a People's Court according to the property's circumstances and protection of children, the woman and the innocent party.
Each spouse's rights and interests in household contractual land management and similar matters shall be protected by law.
Section 699 [Compensation for domestic work]
A spouse bearing greater responsibilities in raising children, caring for older people or assisting the other's work may claim compensation on divorce, which the other shall provide. Details shall be agreed or determined by a People's Court.
Section 700 [Joint debts on divorce]
Joint debts shall be paid jointly. If joint property is insufficient or property is separately owned, repayment shall be agreed or determined by a People's Court.
Section 701 [Assistance in hardship]
If one spouse faces hardship on divorce, the other, if able, shall give appropriate assistance. Details shall be agreed or determined by a People's Court.
Section 702 [Financial compensation and damages]
The innocent party may claim damages where divorce is caused by:
(1) bigamy;
(2) cohabitation with another person;
(3) domestic violence;
(4) abuse or abandonment of family members;
(5) other serious fault.
Section 703 [Concealment, transfer, sale or destruction of joint property]
A spouse concealing, transferring, selling, destroying or squandering joint property, or fabricating joint debts to appropriate the other's property, may receive a reduced share or none on division. If the other discovers such conduct after divorce, they may bring proceedings in a People's Court for a fresh division.
Section 704 [Principles]
Adoption shall benefit the adoptee's healthy development, safeguard adoptee and adopter's lawful rights and interests, observe equality and voluntariness and not offend public order and good morals.
Section 705 [Eligible adoptees]
The following minors may be adopted:
(1) orphans who have lost their parents;
(2) minors whose biological parents cannot be found;
(3) children whose biological parents cannot support them because of particular difficulties.
Section 706 [Persons placing a child for adoption]
The following may place a child for adoption:
(1) an orphan's guardian;
(2) a child welfare institution;
(3) biological parents unable to support the child because of particular difficulties.
Section 707 [Requirements for adopters]
An adopter shall satisfy all the following:
(1) have no children or only one child;
(2) be able to raise, educate and protect the adoptee;
(3) have no illness medically regarded as incompatible with adoption;
(4) have no unlawful or criminal record adverse to healthy development;
(5) be aged 30 or over.
Section 708 [Number of adoptions]
A childless adopter may adopt two children; an adopter with children may adopt only one.
Adoption of orphans, minors with disabilities or minors in child welfare institutions whose biological parents cannot be found may be exempt from the preceding paragraph and Section 707(1).
Section 709 [Adoption of a minor aged eight or over]
The adoptee's consent shall be obtained for adoption at age eight or over.
Section 710 [Placement by a guardian]
An orphan's guardian shall obtain consent of persons with support obligations before placement. If they refuse and the guardian is unwilling to continue, a new guardian shall be determined under Book I.
Section 711 [Placement by biological parents]
Biological parents shall jointly place their child for adoption. One may do so alone if the other is unknown or cannot be found.
Section 712 [No evasion under guise of adoption]
Buying and selling minors under the guise of adoption shall be prohibited.
An adopter shall not obtain an adoptee by unlawful means.
Section 713 [Registration]
Adoption shall be registered with the civil affairs department of a People's Government at county level or above and shall arise on registration.
For adoption of a minor whose biological parents cannot be found, the department shall make a public announcement before registration.
Parties wishing to enter into an adoption agreement may do so.
If all or any party requests notarisation, the adoption shall be notarised.
Civil affairs departments of People's Governments at county level or above shall lawfully assess adoptions.
Section 714 [Adoptive parents and children]
From establishment, the provisions on parents and children shall govern rights and duties between adoptive parents and children; those on children and their parents' close relatives shall govern relations with adoptive parents' close relatives.
Rights and duties between adoptees and biological parents and other close relatives shall cease upon adoption.
Section 715 [Surname]
An adopted child may take either adoptive parent's surname or, by agreement, retain the original surname.
Section 716 [Liability for unlawful adoption conduct]
Where an adopter contrary to this Code fails to support the minor adoptee or abuses, abandons or otherwise infringes their lawful rights and interests, the person who placed the child may require dissolution. If agreement is impossible, proceedings may be brought in a People's Court.
Section 717 [Dissolution by agreement]
Where adopter and person placing the child agree to dissolve adoption, they shall register dissolution with the civil affairs department.
Section 718 [Judicial dissolution]
Where relations between adoptive parents and an adult adoptee deteriorate so that they cannot live together, they may agree to dissolve adoption or, failing agreement, bring proceedings in a People's Court.
Section 719 [Effects of dissolution]
On dissolution, rights and duties with adoptive parents and other close relatives shall cease, and those with biological parents and other close relatives shall automatically resume. For an adult adoptee, however, whether those rights and duties resume may be agreed.
Section 720 [Maintenance following dissolution]
After dissolution, an adult adoptee raised by adoptive parents shall pay living expenses to adoptive parents lacking both ability to work and means of support. If dissolution follows the adult adoptee's abuse or abandonment of adoptive parents, the latter may require reimbursement of support expenses incurred during adoption.
If biological parents seek dissolution, adoptive parents may require appropriate reimbursement of those expenses, except where dissolution results from adoptive parents' abuse or abandonment of the child.