Under what circumstances is bigamy? What is 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 Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (I) (Fa Shi 2001 No. 30) stipulates: "Where a man and a woman who have not registered their marriage 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) Before the promulgation and implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on February 1, 1994, the man and woman have met the substantive requirements for marriage, it shall be treated as a de facto marriage; (2) After the promulgation and implementation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration" on February 1, 1994, where both a man and a 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 on February 1, 1994 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 civil disputes over marriage and family. 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, there can be no practice of treating it as a de facto marriage "if the substantive requirements for marriage are met", nor can it be possible to require him to "post-register his marriage", because if a person with a spouse cohabits with another person in the name of husband and wife, regardless of whether the act occurred before 1 February 1994, it absolutely does not meet the substantive requirements for marriage. 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. ”

Legal analysis: Circumstances constituting the crime of bigamy: first, bigamy with a spouse refers to a person who is already married marries another person during the existence of the marital relationship; The second is to marry another person knowing that he or she has a spouse, which means that a person who does not have a spouse marries another person knowing that he or she has a spouse.

Bigamy is the act of remarrying a person with a spouse. That is, one marriage is already in place, and a second marriage is entered into with another person.

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.

Legal analysis: 1. Registered marriage with spouse and regalia with another person and bigamy, that is, bigamy of two legal marriages. There are cases where a person with a spouse registers his marriage with another person, there are cases where a bigamist deceives the marriage registration office to obtain a marriage certificate, and there are also cases where a bigamist colludes with the staff of the registration office to cheat on each other to obtain a marriage certificate.

2. Registered marriage with the original spouse, and bigamy with another person without registration but living together as husband and wife, this is a de facto marriage type after legal marriage. 3. Bigamy with neither the spouse nor the other person who has not registered the marriage, but the cohabitation with the spouse and the other person in succession or at the same time as husband and wife is bigamy, that is, the bigamy of two de facto marriages. 4. Living together as husband and wife without registering with the original spouse, and then marrying another person and bigamy, this is the legal marriage type after the de facto marriage.

5. There is no spouse, but the other party knows that the other party has a spouse and is registered as a husband and wife. If one of the spouses is married or living together as husband and wife without knowing that the other spouse has a spouse, the non-spouse spouse does not commit the offence of bigamy, and the spouse commits the offence of bigamy.

Legal basis: "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" Article 258: 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 crime of bigamy is established in the following circumstances: the person has a spouse and marries another person; Although the person does not have a spouse, he clearly knows that another person has a spouse and marries another person. The subject of this crime is a general subject, and the subjective aspect is manifested as direct intent; The object of the offence is monogamous marriage, which is objectively manifested in the fact that a person who has a spouse is married to another person or who marries another person knowing that he or she has a spouse.

[Legal basis].

Article 258 of the Criminal Law: Whoever has a spouse and marries another person, or clearly knows that another person has a spouse and marries him, is sentenced to up to two years imprisonment or short-term detention. Article 259:Whoever clearly knows that he is the spouse of a serviceman on active duty and cohabits or marries him shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or short-term detention.