Chương I Luật Hôn nhân và Gia đình 2000: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Missions and scope of application of the Marriage and Family Law

The Marriage and Family Law has the missions to contribute to building, perfecting and protecting the progressive marriage and family regime, formulate legal standards for the conducts of family members; protect the legitimate rights and interests of family members; inherit and promote the fine ethical traditions of the Vietnamese families in order to build prosperous, equal, progressive, happy and lasting families.

The Marriage and Family Law provides for the marriage and family regime, responsibilities of citizens, the State and society in the building and consolidation of the Vietnamese marriage and family regime.

Article 2.- Basic principles of the marriage and family regime

1. Voluntary, progressive and monogamous marriage in which husband and wife are equal.

2. Marriage between Vietnamese citizens of different nationalities and/or different religions, between religious and non-religious people, and between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners is respected and protected by law.

3. Husband and wife are obliged to implement the population and family planning policy.

4. Parents are obliged to bring up their children into citizens useful for the society; children are obliged to respect, care for and support their parents; grand-children are obliged to respect, care for and support their grandparents; family members are obliged look after, care for and help one another.

5. The State and society shall not accept the discrimination among children, between sons and daughters, between biological and adopted children, between in-wedlock and out-of-wedlock children.

6. The State, society and families have the duty to protect women and children, and help mothers to well fulfill their lofty motherhood functions.

Article 3.- The State’s and society’s responsibilities for marriage and family

1. The State adopts policies and measures to create conditions for male and female citizens to establish voluntary and progressive marriage and for families to fulfill their functions; intensify the dissemination and popularization of the marriage and family legislation; mobilize people to abolish backward customs and practices related to marriage and family, promote fine traditions, customs and practices embodying the identity of each nationality; build up progressive marriage and family relations.

2. Agencies and organizations have the duty to educate and mobilize their officials, employees and members as well as every citizen to build cultural families; provide counseling on marriage and family; reconcile family discords in time, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the family members.

3. Schools shall coordinate with families in educating, disseminating and popularizing the marriage and family legislation among the young generations.

Article 4.- Protection of the marriage and family regime

1. Marriage and family relations conforming to this Law are respected and protected by law.

2. Underage marriage, forcing marriage, hindering voluntary and progressive marriage, feigned marriage, deceiving other persons into marriage or divorce; forcing divorce, feigned divorce; property demand for wedding are all forbidden.

A married person is forbidden to marry or live with another person as husband or wife and an unmarried person is forbidden to marry or live with a married person as husband or wife.

Ill-treatment and persecution against grandparents, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, siblings or other family members are forbidden.

3. All acts of violating the marriage and family legislation must be handled promptly, strictly and in accordance with law.

Agencies, organizations and individuals have the right to request the Court or other competent bodies to take measures to promptly stop and severely handle those who commit acts of violating the marriage and family legislation.

Article 5.- Application of the provisions of the Civil Code

The Civil Code’s provisions related to the marriage and family relations shall be applicable to the marriage and family relations in cases where the marriage and family legislation has no relevant provisions.

Article 6.- Application of marriage and family-related customs and practices

In marriage and family relations, the customs and practices embodying the identity of each nationality and not running counter to the principles laid down in this Law are respected and promoted.

Article 7.- Application of the marriage and family legislation to the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements

1. The provisions of the marriage and family legislation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall be applicable to the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, except otherwise provided for by this Law.

2. Where an international agreement which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded to contains provisions different from this Law’s provisions, the provisions of such international agreement shall apply.

Article 8.- Interpretation of terms

In this Law the following terms are construed as follows:

1. The marriage and family regime means the entire law provisions on marriage, divorce, obligations and rights between wives and husbands, parents and children, and among other family members, support, determination of parents, biological children, adopted children and guardians, marriage and family relations involving foreign elements and other matters related to marriage and family;

2. Getting married is an act whereby a man and a woman establish the husband and wife relation according to the law provisions regarding conditions for getting married and marriage registration;

3. Illegal marriage means the establishment of husband and wife relation by a man and a woman who have registered their marriage but breach the marriage conditions prescribed by law;

4. Underage marriage means getting married when one or both marriage partners have not reached the marriage age prescribed by law.

5. Forcing marriage is an act of forcing other persons to get married against their will;

6. Marriage means the relationship between husband and wife after getting married;

7. Marriage period means the duration of time when the husband and wife relationship exists, counting from the date of marriage registration till the date of marriage termination;

8. Divorce means the termination of husband and wife relationship, which is recognized or decided by the Court at the request of either spouse or both.

9. Forcing divorce is an act of forcing other persons to divorce against their will;

10. Family means a group of persons closely bound together by marriage, blood ties or rearing relations, thus giving rise to obligations and rights among these persons according to the provisions of this Law;

11. Support means an act whereby a person has the obligation to contribute money or other kinds of property to meet the essential needs of another person not cohabiting but having marriage, blood or rearing relations with him/her in cases where the latter is a minor or an adult who has no working capacity and no property to support himself/herself, or who meets with economic difficulties, as prescribed by this Law;

12. People of the same direct blood line are parents with respect to their children; grandparents with respect to their grandchildren;

13. Relatives within three generations means people born of the same stock: parents constituting the first generation; siblings of the same parents, of the same father but different mothers, of the same mother but different fathers constituting the second generation; children of uncles and aunts constituting the third generation;

14. Marriage and family relations involving foreign elements are marriage and family relations between:

a/ Vietnamese citizens and foreigners;

b/ Foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam;

c/ Vietnamese citizens but the bases for establishing, changing or terminating such relations are governed by the law of a foreign country or the property related to such relations is located abroad.