The Realistic Analysis And Solution Path For The Return Of Betrothal Gifts

As the formal marriage etiquette system,the betrothal gift is originated from“ six manners” in the Western Zhou dynasty,evolving from “the East Asian betrothal”,it's an important part of our traditional culture.In ancient society,the system of betrothal gift is the primary procedure before the unmarried man and woman entering into marriage;in current society,the phenomenon of giving betrothal gift is not only popular in the rural areas,it is also a ubiquity in the central cities.With the diversified development of people's minds and concepts,this kind custom loses its original significance and people have more attentions on the economic values of the “betrothal gift”.In recent years,as the growing of the economical levels and the unbalanced ratio of male to female,the female part usually takes more advantages in the marriage market,the value of betrothal gift is growing at heels,and the “tolerable standard of betrothal gift” and the “decent standard of betrothal gift” required by the bide are constantly raised.A survey shows among the 3254 investigators,24 percents of these people would choose a betrothal gift values 20 thousands to 50 thousands,6 percents choose a range from 50 thousands to 80 thousands,3 percents choose a range from 80 thousands to 100 thousands,and 8 percents choose a betrothal gift above 100 thousands.Although the betrothal gift is a witness of a legal,effective engagement as well as a symbol of a stable,long-lasting marriage between a man and a woman.In this new historical era,with the diversified development of economy,people's lifestylesand paces become much more flexible,facing various pressures on social life,the harmony companionship may be broke down by the daily brushes,causing conflicts and even confronting at court,a happy marriage becomes the interest disputes between two families,which makes the relevant parties involved in the litigation,but also brings challenges for the judges on the handle of betrothal gifts.According to relevant statistics,only in 2014,the cases of “property disputes in marriage” accepted by the national court in the first instance exceeded 23092;compared with 2014,there was an increase up to 26088 cases in 2015 and 24545 cases in 2016,along with the trend that the number is increasing year by year.The supreme judicial court enacted “explains of application for the ‘marriage Law of the People's Republic of China(2)'” in 2003(hereafter referred as Judicial Interpretation of marriage law(2)),it symbolized the betrothal gift as a traditional habit returned to the scope of law.Although the regulations in “Judicial Interpretation of marriage law(2)” provide relevant basis for the judges to make decisions,considering the contents and forms of the disputes of betrothal gift are complicated and volatile,the previous principals of treatments can not adapt to the current developments;in the juridical practices,different regions have different customs,there are not a unified standard for taking this explain as the judge basis,when a judge deals with this kind of disputes,it's easy for the discretionary power to expand at his will,incurring dissatisfaction of the involved parties,affecting the judicial seriousness,causing damages to justice and authority.This paper tries to use the provisions of the current law,combined with life habits and the treatment principles of the local courts,to analyze the disputes caused by betrothal gift in the juridical practice,and have a discussion on the cognition and advises on the regulations of current laws.Except the introduction part and the conclusion part,this article has three parts:The first part: This part mainly explains the behavior's nature of giving betrothal gift.Having a definition of betrothal gift's giving,and then explaining the current significance of betrothal gift custom and lay foundations for the study and analysis of the following texts.The second part: The current state of the existing laws in China,the researches ofother scholars and people's cognition on the return rules of the betrothal gift,analyz the current return disputes of betrothal gift with practical cases,and explaining the local counts' treatment principles for the return of betrothal gift.The third part: On the basis of the second part,this part mainly analyzes the juridical practices' applicability to the “Judicial Interpretation of marriage law(2)”and usual habits,summarizes the current problems when the existing law solve the disputes of returning betrothal gift.On the other side,putting forward some advises on the solution path of returning betrothal gift in the juridical practice.