What constitutes the crime of bigamy What constitutes the crime of bigamy

The crime of bigamy refers to the act of marrying another person while the perpetrator has a spouse, or marrying another person knowing that he or she has a spouse.

A person who has not registered a marriage, but who lives with another person in the name of husband and wife, or who clearly knows that another person has a spouse and lives together in the name of husband and wife, shall still be convicted and punished as the crime of bigamy.

Article 258 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "Whoever has a spouse and bigamy, or marries another person knowing that he has a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention." "According to article 258 of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, bigamy refers to one party having a spouse and registering his marriage with another person or living together with another person in the name of husband and wife; and the act of registering a marriage with another person knowing that he or she has a spouse, or living together as husband and wife.

The key to determining bigamy is whether it constitutes another husband and wife relationship. According to the relevant judicial interpretations, there are two types of bigamy: one is legal bigamy (known as "legal marriage" in legal theory), which refers to the registration of marriage between a person with a spouse and another person, and the registration of marriage with a marriage registration authority.

The second is de facto bigamy (known as a "de facto marriage" in legal theory), in which a person with a spouse lives with another person in the name of husband and wife.

Article 5 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation (1) on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (Legal Interpretation) stipulates: "Where a man and a woman who have not completed marriage registration in accordance with Article 8 of the Marriage Law and live together in the name of husband and wife sue the people's court for divorce, they shall be treated differently: (1) Where a man and a woman have met the substantive requirements for marriage before the promulgation and implementation of the "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration" of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, it shall be handled as a de facto marriage; (2) After the promulgation and implementation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration", where both the man and the woman meet the substantive requirements for marriage, the people's court shall inform them to apply for marriage registration before accepting the case; If the marriage registration is not completed, it shall be handled as the dissolution of the cohabitation relationship.

In this judicial interpretation, the Supreme People's Court takes the implementation time of the promulgation of the Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs as the time limit for determining "de facto marriage" and "illegal cohabitation", which is only to resolve the civil legal issues of "de facto marriage" and "illegal cohabitation" in marriage and family civil disputes. We can assume that if it involves the criminal law issue of a person who has a spouse and lives with another person in the name of husband and wife, it is impossible to treat it as a de facto marriage "if the substantive requirements for marriage are met", and it is impossible to require the person to "make up the marriage registration", because if a person with a spouse cohabits with another person in the name of husband and wife, regardless of whether such act occurred before the date of the year, the substantive requirements for marriage are absolutely not met. In fact, the Supreme People's Court's Reply to the Reply on Whether Bigamy Cases of Illegal Cohabitation in the Name of Husband and Wife Occurring After the Implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration Should Be Convicted and Punished as the Crime of Bigamy [December 14, 1994] has given a clear reply:

After the promulgation and implementation of the new Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration (approved on January 12, 1994 and promulgated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on February 1, 1994), a person with a spouse who cohabits with another person in the name of husband and wife, or who clearly knows that another person has a spouse and lives with him in the name of husband and wife, shall still be convicted and punished as the crime of bigamy. ”

If someone else has a spouse and you are still living with him or her as husband and wife (this is called a de facto marriage), you do not have to register twice to be called bigamy. If you need help with this, you can find me I happen to be studying marriage law.

Legal Analysis: The crime of bigamy refers to the act of bigamy when the perpetrator has a spouse and marries another person knowing that he or she has a spouse. "Marriage" in the crime of bigamy requires a de facto marital relationship, that is, a man and a woman living together in the name of husband and wife, and does not require that the perpetrator has specifically gone through the formalities of marriage, but occasional cohabitation does not belong to de facto marriage.

Legal basis: Article 258 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China Whoever has a spouse and marries him, or marries another person knowing that he has a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or short-term detention.

The crime of bigamy refers to the act of marrying another person while having a spouse or marrying another person knowing that he or she has a spouse.

The so-called spouse refers to a person who has a wife and a woman has a husband, and the relationship between husband and wife is still existing without legal procedures. If the relationship has been dissolved, or if the relationship has disappeared naturally due to the death of one of the spouses, i.e. it is no longer a person who has a spouse.

The so-called "marrying another person knowing that he or she has a spouse" refers to deliberately marrying another person even though he or she does not have a spouse, but knows that the other party has a spouse, including a registered marriage or a de facto marriage.

The crime of bigamy is a private prosecution case directly accepted by the people's courts. Whoever commits the crime of bigamy shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

The circumstances and harms of bigamy can be several. The existence of bigamy does not necessarily constitute the offence of bigamy. Only bigamy where the circumstances are more serious and the harm is greater can constitute a crime. According to the spirit of the legislation and practical experience, the following two acts of bigamy do not constitute the crime of bigamy:

1) One of the spouses has bigamy because he or she has fled due to unbearable abuse. In practice, due to the influence of factors such as feudal ideology or family conflicts, the phenomenon of abuse between husband and wife occurs from time to time. If one party, especially a woman, flees because of unbearable abuse and then marries another person in another place, it is not appropriate to punish the crime of bigamy because the motive of this bigamy is to get rid of the abuse and quietly roll around, and the harm to society is obviously less.

2) A person who has bigamy with another person due to a disaster and has fled abroad. Those who are unable to live in their place of origin due to a disaster and have migrated to earn a living. One party knows that the other party is still alive, and some even the two parties have migrated together to earn a living, but they are forced to make a living and have to marry another person while the original relationship exists.

Although this kind of bigamy has the intention of bigamy, it is not very harmful to society and should not be punished as the crime of bigamy.

1. The maximum sentence for the crime of bigamy is several years.

The maximum penalty for bigamy is two years in prison. The crime of bigamy refers to the act of marrying another person while having a spouse or marrying another person knowing that he or she has a spouse. A spouse refers to a person who has a spouse if a man has a wife and a woman has a husband, and such marital relationship is still in existence without legal procedures; If the relationship has been dissolved, or if the relationship has disappeared naturally due to the death of one of the spouses, i.e. it is no longer a person who has a spouse.

Knowingly marrying another person knowing that he or she has a spouse refers to intentionally marrying another person (including a registered marriage or a de facto marriage) even though he or she does not have a spouse but knows that the other person has a spouse. Such an act is an act of deliberately destroying the marriage of another person.

Article 258 of the Criminal Punishment Law, a person who has a spouse and bigamy, or marries another person knowing that he has a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.