Chương III Luật Hôn nhân và Gia đình 2000: Quan hệ giữa vợ và chồng

Chapter III

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE

Article 18.- Husband and wife attachment

Husband and wife are faithful to, love, respect, care for and help, each other, together build a prosperous, equal, progressive, happy and lasting family.

Article 19.- Equality in obligations and rights between husband and wife

Husband and wife are equal to each other, having equal obligations and rights in all aspects of their family.

Article 20.- Selection of the domicile of husband and wife

The domicile of husband and wife is selected by themselves without being bound by customs, practices and/or administrative boundaries.

Article 21.- Respect for honor, dignity and prestige of husband and wife

1. Husband and wife respect each other and preserve each other’s honor, dignity and prestige.

2. Husband and wife are strictly forbidden to commit acts of ill-treating, persecuting or hurting the honor, dignity or prestige of each other.

Article 22.- Respect for the right to freedom of religion and belief of husband and wife

Husband and wife respect each other’s right to freedom of belief and religion; must not compel or impede each other to adhere or not adhere to any religion.

Article 23.- Helping and creating conditions for each other to develop in all aspects

Husband and wife discuss together, help and create conditions for each other to select professions, study and raise their educational level, professional qualifications and skills; take part in political, economic, cultural and social activities according to each partner’s aspiration and ability.

Article 24.- Mutual representation between husband and wife

1. Husband and wife may authorize each other to establish, perform or terminate transactions which, as prescribed by law, must be agreed upon by both husband and wife; such authorization must be made in writing.

2. Husband and wife may represent each other when either of them loses his/her civil act capacity while the other is eligible to act as guardian or when either of them is limited in his/her civil act capacity while the other is designated by the Court to act as a representative at law for his/her partner.

Article 25.- Joint liability of husband and wife for transactions conducted by either of them

Husband or wife must take joint liability for lawful civil transactions conducted by either of them to satisfy their family’s daily-life essential needs.

Article 26.- Marriage relations when a partner returns after being declared dead

When the Court issues a decision abrogating a declaration that a person was dead as provided for in Article 93 of the Civil Code and his/her spouse has not yet married another person, their marriage relation will be automatically restored; where his/her spouse has married another person, the marriage relation established later shall be legally valid.

Article 27.- Common property of husband and wife

1. Common property of husband and wife includes property created by husband and wife, incomes generated from labor, production and business activities and other lawful incomes of husband and wife during the marriage period; property jointly inherited or given to both, and other property agreed upon by husband and wife as common property.

The land use right obtained by husband and wife after their marriage is their common property. The land use right obtained before the marriage or personally inherited by husband or wife shall be common property only if so agreed upon by husband and wife.

Common property of husband and wife falls under common ownership by integration.

2. Where a property under the common ownership of husband and wife is required by law to be registered for ownership, the names of both husband and wife must be inscribed in the ownership certificate thereof.

3. Where there is no evidence proving that a property being in dispute between husband and wife is his/her personal property, such property is common property.

Article 28.- Possession, use and disposition of common property

1. Husband and wife have equal obligations and rights in the possession, use and disposition of their common property.

2. Common property of husband and wife is used only to ensure the family’s needs and perform their common obligations.

3. The establishment, performance or termination of civil transactions related to common property which is of big value or the family’s sole means of livelihood, the use of common property for business investment must be discussed and agreed upon by husband and wife, except where such common property has been divided for his/her own business investment under Clause 1, Article 29 of this Law.

Article 29.- Division of common property during the marriage period

1. When marriage still exists, if husband and wife make separate business investments, perform separate civil obligations or there are other plausible reasons, husband and wife may agree to divide their common property; the division of common property must be recorded in writing; if they fail to reach an agreement thereon, they may request the Court to settle it.

2. Division of common property of husband and wife in order to shirk the performance of property obligations shall not be recognized by law.

Article 30.- Consequences of the division of common property of husband and wife

Where common property of husband and wife is divided, yields or profits arising from the divided property shall belong to the ownership of each person; the undivided property portion remains under the common ownership of husband and wife.

Article 31.- Husband and wife’s right to inherit each other’s property

1. Husband and wife have the right to inherit each other’s property according to the provisions of the inheritance legislation.

2. When the wife or husband dies or is declared dead by the Court, the living partner shall manage their common property, except for cases where another person is designated in the testament to manage the heritage or the heirs agree to designate another person to manage the heritage.

3. Where there is a request to divide the heritage but the division of heritage shall seriously affect the life of the living spouse and the family, the living spouse may request the Court to determine the heritage portions to be enjoyed by the heirs but delay the heritage division for a certain period of time; past the time limit determined by the Court or if the living partner has married another person, the other heirs may request the Court to permit the division of the heritage.

Article 32.- Personal property of husband and wife

1. Husband and wife have the right to own personal property.

Personal property of husband and wife includes property owned by each person before their marriage; property inherited and/or given separately during the marriage period; property separately divided to husband or wife under Clause 1, Article 29 and Article 30 of this Law; personal belongings and jewelry.

2. Husband and wife may consolidate or not consolidate their personal property into the common property.

Article 33.- Possession, use and disposition of personal property

1. Husband and wife have the right to possess, use and dispose their personal property, except for cases prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article.

2. Husband and wife manage by themselves their personal property; where either spouse is not able to manage by himself or herself his/her personal property and does not authorize another person to manage, the other partner may manage such property.

3. Each partner’s own property obligations are performed with his/her personal property.

4. Personal property of husband and wife are also used to meet their family’s essential needs if their common property is not enough.

5. Where either spouse’s personal property has been put to common use and the profits or yields from such personal property constitute the family’s sole means of livelihood, the disposition of such personal property must be agreed upon by both husband and wife.