A Study Of The Settlement Of Joint Matrimonial Debts

Joint debts often occur in everyday life,and for people with only simple values,they are often interpreted as a joint debt during the marriage,regardless of whether it is used for the needs of their joint life or business.The complex phenomenon of inconsistency in theoretical recognition and inconsistent trial standards in practice is the result of different value orientations towards multiple interests.Under the leadership of the idea of the rule of law in society with Chinese characteristics in the new era,safeguarding the interests of the parties and achieving social justice is the highest pursuit leading the operation of various legal activities.Against this background,how to understand,grasp and apply the rules on joint matrimonial debt,and how to balance and protect the interests of all parties in the matrimonial debt relationship has become a crucial practical issue to be resolved.From a macro perspective,by understanding the evolution of the rules on joint matrimonial debt in China,and through the changing value base and legislative purpose behind them,we can accurately grasp the value orientation and development direction of the rules on joint matrimonial debt in the context of the Civil Code.There is an inevitable conflict of interest between the creditors and the personal interests of the husband and wife,and how to balance the interests of the two is a difficult problem to be overcome by the rules on joint matrimonial debts.On a micro level,under the existing rules on marital debt,the objective of studying this issue is to try to achieve a balance of interests of the parties in each case,and to determine whether the debt is a joint debt of the spouses,how to allocate the burden of proof and the study of the settlement issue are the issues that need to be grasped.In the first part,the definition and nature of the rules on joint matrimonial debts in China are firstly explained,and then a distinction is made between joint matrimonial debts and the more confusing joint and several debts,and the inadequacies of the current legal rules are clarified in the light of the diversified values based on the protection of marriage,autonomy of meaning and security of transactions.In the second part,on the basis of clarifying the criteria and rules for the recognition of joint debts of husband and wife,the burden of proof is reasonably allocated to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the three parties from being infringed,so that the debtor will bear the responsibility that he should have,in order to balance the rights and interests of the three parties.In practice,the adjudicator will be provided with diversified identification criteria,combined with case-by-case factors to make comprehensive judgments,and flexibly allocate the burden of proof and grasp the standard of proof under the premise of respecting basic principles and maintaining fairness and justice.With the advent of the era of the Civil Code on 1January 2021,the legislative support for the diversified rules on the settlement of joint matrimonial debts has been strengthened and given a new era connotation,but it still fails to resolve the difficult situation of the lack of refined identification criteria,allocation of the burden of proof and rules on settlement.In the third part,the legislative history of China’s joint debt settlement system will be briefly explained,and the problems of the current system will be illustrated in the light of the current situation of foreign studies.Citing the Pony Run case,the current situation of adjudication of joint debts of spouses in China’s judicial practice will be briefly demonstrated.In the fourth part,we explore the diversified paths for the liability of joint debts of husband and wife from the perspective of the balance of interests,and make some suggestions to improve the current problems.For example,a reasonable allocation of the burden of proof,the establishment of a system for the recognition of property debts during separation,the establishment of a system for the registration of property against public disclosure and the establishment of a system for personal bankruptcy property,so as to achieve a formal balance of external interests and substantive equality of internal interests by distinguishing between internal and external interests.