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Under what circumstances do dowries need to be returned？
Time:2025-09-01 Views:1590
Bridal gifts, also known as betrothal gifts, dowries, etc. in some places, have been a marriage custom in China for thousands of years. According to this custom, when a man wants to marry a woman from another family, he should offer a betrothal or dowry to the woman's family. The amount of dowry depends on various factors such as local conditions and the economic situation of the parties involved, but the amount is generally not small. At present, in the vast rural areas of China, the phenomenon of paying dowries for marriage is still quite common. In many places, many families who were not originally wealthy have built up a huge debt to pay dowries, causing an extremely heavy economic burden. Because of this, there is a great controversy in many rural families regarding whether the dowry should be returned when couples divorce. When soliciting public opinions on the draft judicial interpretation this time, the most concentrated and difficult to unify public opinions were on whether the dowry should be returned.
We have adopted the majority view in Article 10 of Interpretation (II). According to the current national conditions in China, there are three situations where dowries paid according to customs can be requested for return: firstly, if both parties have not completed the marriage registration procedures; Secondly, if both parties have completed the marriage registration procedures but have not yet lived together; The third reason is that pre marital payment causes difficulties in the life of the payer. The second and third items specified in the explanation shall be conditional on the divorce of both parties. The reason why we have to make such regulations is that it is still common in many parts of China to pay dowries. If we completely ignore the issue of dowries, it may seriously damage the property rights and interests of some parties involved. However, we always believe that under socialist conditions, marriage between men and women should be based on love, and we do not advocate or support marriage being conditional on the payment of dowries. The above regulations are made to resolve disputes in real life and prevent conflicts from escalating, not to encourage or promote the payment of dowries. We still call on young people and their parents to boldly break the old custom of paying dowries and establish a new trend of socialist gender equality, so that the marriages of our younger generation are built on a happy and fulfilling foundation of love.
Regarding the effectiveness of a marriage contract, civil law countries generally consider the formation of a marriage contract as a stage of marriage, but do not consider it a contractual debt. Therefore, when one party fails to perform the marriage contract, the other party may not file a lawsuit for performance or pursue liability for breach of contract. Marriage contract is not a necessary procedure for the establishment of a marriage. Both parties can agree to terminate the marriage contract, or one party can propose termination to the other party. If one party breaches the contract, the other party cannot file a lawsuit to fulfill the engagement, nor can they demand that the breaching party bear the liability for breach of contract. The payment or acceptance of the dowry only occurs between the man and woman who are preparing to enter into a marriage relationship. The payer pays their own personal property, and the dowry received by the recipient is not used for family consumption. The dowry becomes the recipient's personal property, and the subject of the lawsuit can be the man and woman themselves; The payment and acceptance of dowries occur between a man and a woman who are preparing to enter into a marriage relationship, or between the parents or other family members of both parties, but the payment is for the common property of the family, and the acceptance of dowries occurs in a family manner. The parties to the lawsuit may include the man and the woman themselves and both parties' family members. In a sense, we can view marriage as a contractual relationship. During the period of love, both men and women belong to the stage of offer and counter offer. From the engagement to the registration of marriage, it can be regarded as the stage of commitment, that is, the stage of contract formation. After registering for marriage and obtaining the marriage certificate, it can be considered as the stage of contract effectiveness. From a contractual perspective, the act of giving and receiving dowries occurs during the establishment stage of a marriage contract. Due to the act of giving and receiving dowries, there is a certain guarantee for the transition of marital relationships from the establishment stage to the effective stage. Afterwards, if the marriage relationship does not take effect, then the act of the parties receiving the dowry violates the original intention of both parties and should be returned. If the marriage relationship takes effect, the role of the dowry is also completed, and the party who gives the dowry naturally has no legal basis to demand the return of the dowry.
Considering the actual situation in real life, if the Supreme People's Court requests the return of dowries paid according to customs in Article 10 of the Interpretation of the Marriage Law, and it is found that the following situations exist, the people's court shall support it:
（1） Both parties have not completed the marriage registration procedures;
（2） Both parties have completed the marriage registration procedures but have not yet lived together;
（3） Pre marital payment that causes financial difficulties for the payer.
The application of the provisions of items (2) and (3) of the preceding paragraph shall be conditional on the divorce of both parties.
Although this explanation does not summarize all the circumstances in which dowries should be returned, it legally affirms that under certain conditions, the received dowries should be returned.
There is one thing worth noting
If you have obtained a marriage certificate but have not lived together, you can return it
Those who live together, even if they have common property, can divide it in the form of property.
Of course, those who have not obtained a marriage certificate can take it.
Entering into an engagement is a stage of marriage, but it is not considered a contractual debt. Therefore, when one party fails to fulfill the engagement, the other party may not file a lawsuit to fulfill the engagement, nor pursue liability for breach of contract. So we cannot make a claim under the pretext of delaying the other party's youth.
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