Research On The Legal Relationship Between Step-parents And Step-children In China

As a secondary production in the era of high divorce,the legal regulation of the relationship between step-parents and step-children is not only related to the harmony of the family,but also to the stability of the society,and thus should be widely concerned by the academic circle and our society.Although Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China was introduced in 1980 and was amended in 2001,there has been no change in the provisions concerning the relationship between step-parents and step-children.The multiple judicial interpretations related to it have been in use since the end of last century as well.This phenomenon leads to that if legal disputes between step-parents and step-children are brought to court,the judge will be free to make decisions on the case and the application of the law either because there is no law to follow or because he does not know which law to follow.Reflected in the judicial judgments of different courts,there may be similar cases but very different results,which is detrimental to the judicial authority.Starting from the basic theory of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children,combined with the disputes existing in judicial practices and advanced legislation abroad,this paper analyzes and expounds the shortcomings in the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China from the aspects of the formation,content and termination,so as to put forward corresponding suggestions for improvement,as well as to provide a reference for the establishment of the relevant provisions of The Marriage and Family Code in Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the contents of each chapter are as follows:The first chapter is an overview of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China.Starting from the definition,the paper defines the connotation of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children;sorts out the classification basis of it;expounds the general legislative situation of it by summarizing the legislative evolution from the vertical perspective and proposing the legislative values including ethical values and international values,which lays a theoretical foundation for later research.The second chapter studies the formation of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China.It mainly analyzes and summarizes the case data of Shandong Province case controversy on the formation of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children,and expounds the defects of the current legislation in our country.Some representative countries were selected to examine and evaluate their legislation experience,and to broaden the research perspective of relevant issues in our country.The third chapter studies the content of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China.It mainly analyzes and summarizes the case data of Shandong Province case controversy on the content of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children,and expounds the defects of the current legislation in our country.Some representative countries were selected to examine and evaluate their legislation experience,and to broaden the research perspective of relevant issues in our country.The fourth chapter studies the termination of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China.It mainly analyzes and summarizes the case data of Shandong Province case controversy on the termination of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children,and expounds the defects of the current legislation in our country.Some representative countries were selected to examine and evaluate their legislation experience,and to broaden the research perspective of relevant issues in our country.The fifth chapter discusses the suggestions for perfecting the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children in China.The first is to establish the legislative principles,including the principle of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors and the elderly and fully respecting the related parties’ autonomy of will.Second,to define the conditions for the formation of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children,including clearing the specific criteria for maintenance and adding an incomplete adoption system.Third,to adjust the rights and obligations between step-parents and step-children,including balancing the corresponding obligations of maintenance,granting step-parents the appropriate parental rights,and substituting the right of claim for step-parents and step-children to inherit each other.Finally,to distinguish whether the remarriage relationship between the biological parents and the step-parents exists to regulate the termination of the legal relationship between step-parents and step-children.