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Is it necessary to have a cooling-off period for divorce?
The Civil Code sets the requirement of a one-month cooling-off period before filing for divorce
 VOL.12 August ·2020-08-07
HELLORF

Chinese lawmakers on May 28 voted to adopt the country's long-expected Civil Code during the Third Session of the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature. The Civil Code has a total of 1,260 articles divided into seven parts including General Provisions, Property Rights, Contracts, Personality Rights, Marriage and Family, Right of Inheritance and Tort Liability, and will take effect on January 1, 2021.

Article 1,077 of the Civil Code sets the requirement of a one-month cooling-off period before filing for divorce. It stipulates that a divorce application can be revoked by either side of the couple within the cooling-off period. Within 30 days after the expiration of the period, both parties can personally apply to the marriage registration authority for the issuance of a divorce certificate.

The introduction of the cooling-off period has generated debate in the society. Some people have welcomed the measure, arguing that it can be helpful in reducing divorce rates, maintaining social stability and preventing hasty divorce. However, there are others who say that the stipulation doesn't have any practical value and will only extend the period of divorce process and increase the pain of the applicants.

Long Yifei

Professor at the School of Law at Renmin University of China

Beijing

We know that in many divorce cases, the marriage can't be sustained. However, a considerable number of people seek divorce due to some irrational reasons. Occasional conflicts are normal in married life, and some couples resort to "divorce" to resolve conflicts. This situation is very common in our lives.

The 30-day cooling-off period is designed to give the parties a chance to think rationally about a number of questions: Is the relationship really broken? Is there any possibility of living together? Do marital conflicts have to end in divorce? How will the divorce influence the children's interests?

Therefore, a legal provision emphasizing emotional healing and careful thinking is conducive to the resolution of conflicts in marriage and stability of marriage and family relations.

Li Yalan

President of Heilongjiang Lawyers Association

Heilongjiang Province

In many judicial cases we deal with, couples often get angry because of some trivial matters. "I can't live with you. I want a divorce," is a typical retort when neither is willing to bear the other. Then they will decide to terminate their relationship.

People are emotional. The road marriage entails a gradual and often long process of knowing, understanding and falling in love. As time passes, the memories of the good times spent together always come to mind. By then, however, if the relationship has been dissolved, it will be hard for the parties to come together again.

In judicial practice, we see that a lot of divorce decisions are impulsive. If there is a period of cooling off, the two sides may decide not to divorce in the end and cherish their relationship more in the future.

Li Li

Lawyer of Yingke Law Firm

Henan Province

The value of marriage must be visible and highlighted through certain practices. For example, wearing a ring at the wedding ceremony is an external display of the value of marriage. The cooling-off period represents the cautious attitude toward marriage. The more complex the divorce process is, the more valuable the marriage would feel.

Divorce is not a joke. The impact of divorce on the lives of couples and their children, families and society is much bigger than imagined. The stipulation of this cooling-off period will help people understand the importance of the family and encourage parties to give due attention to their marriage.

After one month's calm thinking, if the two parties still want to it, they can get the divorce. It will not affect the freedom of any one. If one party withdraws the application during this month, it is likely that divorce was not his or her real intention.

Yi Yi

Founder of a law firm

Beijing

Hasty divorces do exist in real life. But, a larger proportion of couples file for divorce after a long period of an unbearable relationship. The cooling-off period will not help calm them, but only prolong the process of divorce and deepen their suffering. If people have decided to divorce, any duration of cooling-off period will not stop them.

In 2019, among 4.15 million divorces in China, only a minority of cases was based on impulsive decisions; most of the divorce decisions were carefully considered. It has to be said that the introduction of the cooling-off period for divorce may indeed reduce the divorce rate, but at the same time, it may also make more people shrink back from marriage.

Jiang Shengnan

Writer

Zhejiang Province

The original intention of the rule is to prevent hasty and impulsive divorce and maintain family stability. But being forced to prolong the pain in a marriage that has proven to be a failure may be counterproductive.

Statistics show that less than 5 percent of couples are involved in a lightning marriage and impulsive divorce. The vast majority of people decide about their marriage after careful consideration. The need to have a cooling-off period to prevent impulsive divorce should not neglect the interests of 95 percent of the couples who really want a divorce.

Besides, this cooling-off period is likely to inflict greater pain on the vulnerable in the couple, such as one partner hiding, transferring, selling or destroying common property or causing emotional or physical harm on the other.

Zhang Bancheng

Executive of an Internet company

Beijing

The implementation of the new rule will greatly raise the cost of divorce.

In fact, most people who file for divorce don't do it because of the feeling on a day or night, but due to a long period of dissatisfaction, pain and suffering. When two people get married, they need the consent of both sides. But when it comes to divorce, it's fair that it only requires application from one party who is suffering greater pain in the marriage.

Only happy individuals can make a happy family, and happy families can create a happy society. Blindly increasing the "cost" of divorce may reduce the divorce rate, but does not really save an unhappy marriage. CA

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