Registration of Marriages in Mainland China 2. The contracting party to marriage is a disabled person or person who lacks full capacity 3. There are two ways to seek a divorce: the path of settlement and the path of legal action.
There are two ways to seek a divorce, either by settlement or as a legal process. The parties must reach a divorce agreement that includes the explicit representation of both parties for a voluntary divorce, as well as a consensus on child custody and the handling of matters such as assets and debts.
In China, if you married yesterday, today you have the right to file for divorce if you believe that your marriage has broken down. Chinese law does not prohibit divorce if you have been married for a certain period of time (in some countries, for example, to divorce in English courts, you must be married for at least a year). The possibility that a Chinese court will accept a divorce petition depends on how satisfactory the jurisdiction is. If husband and wife do not agree to divorce, the court may propose reconciliation.
A premarital agreement in Hong Kong does not regulate child support or other claims related to the financial maintenance of the children. Post-marital arrangements include provisions such as a separation agreement and an agreement aimed at regulating financial and custody arrangements before filing for divorce. The parties cannot invalidate the jurisdiction of the court if the agreement they wish to enforce is reviewed by Hong Kong courts. There is no matrimonial property right on Chinese territory.
The right to demand compensation for domestic work during divorce proceedings is not a new concept in Chinese law. In 2001, it was added to a revision of China’s Marriage Act, but it was a precondition only for couples who, before separation, agreed to the ownership of the spouse who retained the property acquired during marriage exclusively. That provision has been deleted from China’s new civil code, Xia said. In reality, legal experts say, few Chinese couples enter into formal agreements to keep their property separate, and it is rare for divorced spouses to be entitled to court-approved compensation for domestic work.
Hong Kong has one of the highest divorce rates in the world and focuses on the poorer classes. The number of divorce judgments issued in Hong Kong rose from 6,295 in 1991 to 22,171 in 2013. At the same time, cross-border marriages have soared.
As a result, more than 100,000 children live in single-parent households without their mothers. Professor Wong sees another factor in this trend: the opening up of China and the growing number of cross-border marriages. Cross-border marriage dates back to the late 1970 “s, when China began to open its borders and the British colonial government pursued a far-reaching, broad-based policy of granting full residency rights to refugees from the mainland once they made it to Hong Kong. Divorce is common in modernized societies, and Hong Kong’s divorce laws were relaxed in the 1970 “s.
Marriage decisions in pre-modern China were made by parents with the help of dating agents, and the child’s fate was determined early on. With the reforms of the twentieth century and the introduction of marriage laws, such practices were banned. The decision to marry lies in the freedom of choice of a man or woman to choose their partner. The parents of the older generation decide what to do with their partner and how much money to spend on the wedding.
While total control over child and parent marriage decisions is still rare in China today, the involvement of parents in decision-making has taken a different form. In the last fifty years, data suggest that parental participation in marriage decisions has declined in areas of China where the majority of the population lives. Parental involvement can range from introducing potential spouses to counselling on marriage decisions. Research has shown that enforcement of the law has not stopped the practice of parents arranging marriages, but changes in this practice are evident.
More and more expats are moving to and living in China. Some are making the difficult decision to divorce, and more and more of them are considering divorce. After more than ten years of practice in international family law, I have found that almost everyone I ask about a divorce of expats in China does so voluntarily. Some expats are considering returning to their home country after a divorce, while others think it makes sense to 中港離婚.
I suspect the woman is having an affair with another man. Conversely, both parties who got married in Hong Kong have committed bigamy if they get married in mainland China and are going through divorce proceedings at the time of their marriage, provided the divorce proceedings have not yet been completed. If you are getting married in mainland China, but the divorce process has not yet been completed and your status is not single, then you are not married in Hong Kong. For more information about bigamy, see Matrimonial Matters, Marriage and Co-habitants: Issues of Bigamy. A person who, in the life of a former husband or wife, is or was married to another person is guilty of an offence which can be prosecuted and carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
The only reason for the 中港離婚 is that the marriage has broken down. According to paragraph 11 of the Marriage Causes Ordinance (adultery), adultery is one of the five facts by which a party can prove that a marriage has broken down and the applicant must prove the fact of adultery.
Hong Kong relied on English jurisprudence for the vote of confidence. Since the adoption of the Marriage Procedure and the Property Amendment Regulation in 2010, Hong Kong courts have had the power to issue orders relating to financial claims following a divorce from abroad. The leading case in Hong Kong is the Trust Fund for Finding Resources in Marriage (KLK v PLTO Court of Final Appeal 21 / 2013 / 2014, HKFLR 329).
It is to be hoped that the implementation of these rules will be as effective as possible and provide strong protection for the parties to cross-border marriages and their children. As the settlement shows, marriage and family laws and procedures vary widely in Hong Kong and mainland China, but share the same principles for protecting the well-being of family members and effectively resolving disputes. Given the close links between the communities of Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China and the mainland, as well as the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area, the number of cases involving cross-border marital and family disputes is expected to increase, fuelled by the increased demand for mutual recognition and enforcement of civil judgments in matrimonial and family matters by courts in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Arun Kumar 