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Is ＂online marriage＂ a crime of bigamy？
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1623
Introduction: Feeling hurt because her husband got married and had a child online, Ms. Lin from Harbin, in a fit of rage, took her husband to court for the crime of bigamy and demanded compensation for mental distress. The court held that, in accordance with Chinese law, marriage follows the principle of registration. Therefore, "online marriage" that does not meet this legal requirement is not suspected of bigamy. Accordingly, although the court agreed to Ms. Lin's divorce, it rejected her claim for "compensation for fault".
Is "online marriage" a crime of bigamy?
Bigamy refers to the act of having a spouse or knowing that someone else has a spouse and still marrying them. It encompasses two aspects: one is "having a spouse and marrying another person", which refers to a married person who, during the existence of their marital relationship, marries another person. The second refers to "marrying someone knowing they have a spouse", which means that a person without a spouse marries someone knowing they have a spouse. The "Reply of the Supreme People's Court on How to Determine Bigamy" stipulates that bigamy refers to the act of a person with a spouse establishing a marital relationship with a third party. This act of establishing a marital relationship is, first of all, legal bigamy (" legal marriage "), which refers to a person with a spouse registering for marriage with another person, that is, going to the marriage registration authority to register for marriage. The second is de facto bigamy (" de facto marriage "), which refers to a person with a spouse living together with another person as husband and wife. Whether it is a legal marriage or a de facto marriage, they both refer to real actions and do not include virtual ones. Therefore, Ms. Lin's husband does not constitute bigamy.
In this era where the Internet is ubiquitous, the way people express their emotions is undergoing a revolutionary change: from ordinary online chatting to "online dating", and then to the so-called "online marriage" where people "register" to form a "family" or even "raise children" through the Internet. It can truly be said that there are all kinds of strange things. Admittedly, all of this is a non-real and virtual reality. As Lin's husband defended himself, "It was just for entertainment online." However, we also see that at least in this matter, Lin personally feels that "it has caused great mental harm." Therefore, even if the "crime of bigamy" cannot be established, the result of divorce has still occurred. That is to say, Although the "marriage" in "online marriage" is virtual and has no real legal basis, the harm it causes could very well be very real.
If you still want to know more about issues related to online marriage, the editor recommends:
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Online appointment for marriage registration has been connected nationwide
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