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Is the marriage with the children of cousins valid？
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1342
【 Case 】
On May 8, 2014, Zhang filed a lawsuit with the court requesting a divorce from Hong. After trial, it was found that Zhang's father and Hong's grandmother were siblings, meaning that Zhang married his cousin's daughter.
【 Disagreement 】
The first opinion: According to the seventh provision of the Marriage Law, marriage is prohibited for collateral blood relatives within three generations. In this case, Zhang belongs to the third generation, and Hong belongs to the fourth generation. The Marriage Law does not specify whether one party has three generations or both parties have three generations, therefore the marriage relationship between the two parties is invalid.
Second opinion: Article 7 of the Marriage Law stipulates that marriage is prohibited for three generations of collateral relatives. Although it is not specified whether it is within three generations of one party or within three generations of both parties, the calculation of the number of generations between the two is based on the larger number. In this case, although Zhang is of three generations, Hong is of four generations, so the two parties are fourth generation collateral blood relatives and are not prohibited by the Marriage Law. The marriage is valid between the two parties.
【 Analysis 】
I agree with the second opinion. The reasons are as follows.
Marriage, as a union between a man and a woman, is not only a physiological necessity, but also a prerequisite for human reproduction. The Book of Rites on Marriage and Righteousness states: "Those who marry should share the same surname and serve in the ancestral temple, while carrying on the legacy for future generations." People have long recognized the harm of consanguineous marriage, and the Western Zhou Dynasty began to implement the principle of "same surname, no marriage", which originated from people's recognition that "men and women share the same surname, and their offspring cannot be distinguished. Although our ancestors were unable to understand the detailed harm of consanguineous marriage, they have gained a correct understanding of the negative impact that consanguineous marriage has on future generations. Genetic research shows that family members from the same ancestor have a greater chance of carrying the same recessive disease genes. The proportion of dementia and other physiological defects in offspring of close relatives is much higher than that of non close relatives. This is because half of the genes between parents of close relatives and their own children are the same between siblings and sisters; Among grandparents and grandchildren, there is 1/4 genetic similarity between uncles, aunts, aunts, and nieces and nephews; There are 1/8 same genes among cousins sisters, aunts and cousins sisters; Cousins, uncles, nieces, and nephews share 1/16 of their genes, while cousins share 1/32 of their genes. The more the same genes, the more chance the pathogenic genes meet, and the higher the incidence rate of genetic diseases. The prohibition of consanguineous marriage reflects the requirements of biology and is based on the need to ensure eugenics. However, in ancient times, it was forbidden to have the same surname or ancestry, while for cousins and cousins, it was considered as "adding relatives to relatives". Subsequent Ming and Qing laws both stipulated penalties for consanguineous marriage. Article 5 of the Marriage Regulations of the Chinese Soviet Republic during the period of the New Democratic Revolution in our country stipulates that marriage between men and women of kinship within five generations is prohibited. In 1950, the first Marriage Law of China's socialist period stipulated that marriage is prohibited for those who are directly related by blood or are compatriots' sisters and half brothers or half sisters, and marriage is prohibited for those who are collateral relatives within the other five generations. Article 6 of the Marriage Law promulgated by China in 1980 stipulates that direct blood relatives and collateral blood relatives within three generations are prohibited from getting married. The current effective Article 7 of the Marriage Law inherits the provisions of Article 6 of the 1980 Marriage Law.
The Marriage Law of our country prohibits the marriage of collateral blood relatives within three generations, but the law does not specify whether one party has three generations or both parties have three generations. However, in our country's generation calculation method, one generation is considered as one generation. When calculating direct blood relatives, the deceased is considered as the first generation, and then the number is counted upwards or downwards from the deceased, up to the parents as the second generation, and up to the grandparents as the third generation; Counting down to children is the second generation, counting down to grandchildren is the third generation, and so on. When calculating collateral blood relatives, the generation must be determined based on the homologous relationship between collateral blood relatives. Those who are homologous to their parents are considered collateral blood relatives within two generations, those who are homologous to their grandparents or great grandparents are considered collateral blood relatives within three generations, and so on. The specific method for calculating the generation of collateral blood relatives is to count up from two collateral relatives to two homologous blood relatives, which are themselves one generation. If the numbers on both sides are equal, then the number on either side is their generation; If the numbers on both sides are not equal, use the larger number as its algebra.
In this case, Zhang and Hong share the same origin as Zhang's grandparents. From Zhang's perspective, Zhang himself is of one generation, and counting up to Zhang's grandparents, that is, Zhang's parents Zhang's grandparents, is of three generations; From the perspective of Hong, they are already of the same generation. Therefore, counting up to Zhang's grandparents, namely Hong's mother, Hong's grandmother, and Hong's grandmother's parents (Zhang's grandparents), they are of the fourth generation. In other words, Zhang is of the third generation, while Hong is of the fourth generation. Therefore, Zhang and Hong are collateral blood relatives of the fourth generation, and they are not within the three generations prohibited from marriage by the Marriage Law. Therefore, both parties can marry and their marital relationship is valid. Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.