Research On The British Divorce Cooling-Off Period System And Its Inspiration To The Application Of The Civil Code In China

In order to better respond to social development,the British divorce legal system has undergone more than a hundred years of exploration and has made a lot of efforts on the road to progress,and has been constantly revised and improved through piloting and experimentation,finally forming a complete set of divorce legal system with rich theoretical and practical experience.Among them,the concept of "divorce cooling-off period" was introduced in the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1973 and the Family Law Act of 1996 in the United Kingdom as early as in 1973,and the relevant provisions were given more explicitly: first of all,the applicant should spend the divorce protection period before having the prerequisites for divorce and the legal grounds for divorce.A declaration of marital breakdown can be filed after attending a marital information hearing within three months prior to the declaration of marital breakdown,and the court will grant the parties a period of reflection and consideration,generally nine months,which may be extended or shortened depending on the circumstances.During the divorce consideration period,the court may arrange for a mediator to intervene,or the parties may consult with a professional marriage counseling service to learn more about divorce matters,and at the same time think calmly about the various problems in the marriage and decide carefully whether they should reconcile.If the parties still insist on divorce,the court will not issue a final divorce decision directly,but will first issue a provisional divorce decree.The provisional decree is followed by an absolute decree,with a certain period of time between the two,during which the court will examine whether there are valid reasons or appeals against the denial of an absolute decree,whether the parties have made appropriate arrangements for the future of the children,and whether the various periods provided for by law have expired.ultimate time for calm reflection.This series of provisions to raise the threshold and limit divorce by distinguishing between setting a certain reasonable period of time,and the supporting measures and services actively provided by the courts,together constitute the English divorce cooling-off period system.In recent years,high divorce rate has caused many unstable factors.In order to make up for the shortcomings of the existing divorce system,China actively draws on relevant foreign experience based on the national conditions,and on May 28,2020,the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China was passed with a high vote,and the divorce cooling-off period system was explicitly proposed for the first time and stipulated in Chapter 4 of Part 5 of the Civil Code,Articles 1076 to 1078 of Title 5 of the Civil Code,which gives the parties a 30-day period of consideration and the right to withdraw within that period,further improving the current divorce system.However,the provisions of the Civil Code on the cooling-off period for registered divorce are too rough and single,and the length of the period and the specific conditions for its application are not set differently according to the different situations of the divorcing parties,but rather the 30-day cooling-off period is applied uniformly,and there are no corresponding supporting measures to further facilitate the realization of the legal purpose.If not improved,the divorce cooling-off period system will be null and void,which not only increases the time cost of divorce,but also may further intensify the family conflicts between the divorcing parties.Therefore,based on a comprehensive study of the key dimensions,this paper systematically composes the British divorce cooling-off period system and its related supporting measures,and puts forward corresponding supplementary suggestions for the improvement of the registered divorce cooling-off period system in China,with a view to solving the problems existing in practice.This paper is divided into four main chapters,in addition to the opening introduction and the final conclusion.The first chapter covers the definition of the concept of the English divorce cooling-off period system,its development and evolution,and its guiding principles,in order to set the stage for the subsequent study.This chapter mainly follows the timeline of the historical development of the divorce cooling-off period system in the UK,and describes the evolution of the system from its absence to its existence and continuous additions and improvements in the context of the intertwined religious,political,and human rights movements.Finally,the guiding principles of the British divorce cooling-off period system are mentioned,and the main contents are divided into three perspectives: guaranteeing freedom of divorce,preventing hasty divorce,and defending vulnerable groups.Chapter 2 focuses on the substantive rules applicable to the English divorce cooling-off period system and its judicial practice.Firstly,it introduces the specific rules of its application,which are comprehensively and systematically sorted out from three dimensions: "divorce protection period","divorce consideration period" and "divorce review period",followed by The legal consequences of application are also categorized from "personal relationship between husband and wife","property relationship between husband and wife" and "relationship between parents and children";finally,the three different dimensions of the Lastly,for the three different dimensions of the divorce cooling-off period,the relevant typical judicial cases are selected to show,in order to fully reflect the problems that may be involved in practice as well as the people’s attitude and reactions to the system.Chapter 3 focuses on the procedural safeguards in the application of the English divorce cooling-off period system.In addition,it introduces the corresponding supporting measures,such as the hearings to be attended before making a declaration of marital breakdown,the marital guidance services provided during the reflection period,and the The system of mediation and conciliation throughout the divorce process is introduced,so as to further deepen and improve the institutional system of the cooling-off period for divorce in the UK.Chapter 4 further considers the inspiration of the British divorce cooling-off period system to China by revealing the shortcomings of the registered divorce cooling-off period in China.Through studying and analyzing the specific contents and relevant practices of the British divorce cooling-off period system,this paper puts forward suggestions for improving the registered divorce cooling-off period system in China at the present stage from three perspectives: setting a reasonable distinction between the cooling-off period and the applicable conditions,improving the supporting system and measures of the divorce cooling-off period,and improving the access and training system of marriage registrars.The last part of the conclusion mainly summarizes the contents of the paper and provides a brief overview of the current system.The last part of the conclusion mainly summarizes the content of the whole paper and looks forward to the future.For improving the shortcomings and deficiencies of the cooling-off period system for registered divorce under agreed divorce in China,the cooling-off period system for uncontested divorce in the UK undoubtedly has certain reference value and significance.However,this paper is only a preliminary reflection,and it is still difficult to know the role and actual effect of the divorce cooling-off period,and new loopholes may appear,which require our continuous attention to keep conforming to the changes of social development and continue to fill the institutional gap about the registered divorce cooling-off period in China.