What is cohabitation as husband and wife? How to prove cohabitation like husband and wife in Vietnam?
What is cohabitation as husband and wife? Is it illegal to cohabitate as husband and wife in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 7, Article 3 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, cohabitation as husband and wife means a man and a woman’s organization of their living together and consideration of themselves as husband and wife.
At the same time, according to Clause 2, Article 5 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, it is stipulated as follows:
Protection of the marriage and family regime
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2. The following acts are prohibited:
a/ Sham marriage or sham divorce;
b/ Underage marriage, forcing a person into marriage, deceiving a person into marriage, obstructing marriage;
c/ A married person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person;
d/ Getting married or cohabitating as husband and wife between people of the same direct blood line; relatives within three generations; adoptive parent and adopted child; or former adoptive parent and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or stepparent and stepchild;
dd/ Demanding property in marriage;
e/ Forcing a person into divorce; deceiving a person into divorce; obstructing divorce;
g/ Giving birth with assisted reproductive technology for commercial purpose, commercial gestational surrogacy, prenatal sex selection, cloning;
h/ Domestic violence;
i/ Taking advantage of marriage and family rights for human trafficking, labor exploitation or sexual abuse or committing another act for self-seeking purposes.
The current marriage and family law does not prohibit the act of cohabitation as husband and wife without getting married if this act does not violate other provisions of the law.
Specifically, it is strictly forbidden a married person to get married to or cohabitate as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person to get married to or cohabitate as husband and wife with a married person;
What is cohabitation as husband and wife? How to prove cohabitation like husband and wife in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
How to prove cohabitation like husband and wife in Vietnam?
At the same time, based on Section 3.1 of the Joint Circular 01/2001/TTLT-BTP-BCA-TANDTC-VKSNDTC guiding the crime of violating the monogamy regime (the 1999 Criminal Code guidance) there are :
3. Regarding bigamy (Article 147, the PC)
3.1. Living together like husband or wife means any married person lives with another person or any unmarried person lives with another person who he/she knows to be a married person openly or secretly but like a family. The cohabitation like husband and wife is often proved by common child (children) and the couple are considered by neighbors and the society as husband and wife, having common property, who have been educated by their families, offices and organizations but continue maintaining such relationship…
Accordingly, a married person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person may be examined for penal liability for the crime of violating the marriage and family regime.
Cohabitation like husband and wife is often proved by:
- common child (children)
- the couple are considered by neighbors and the society as husband and wife,
- having common property,
- persons who have been educated by their families, offices and organizations but continue maintaining such relationship…
How to handle the act of adultery in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 182 of the 2015 Criminal Code as follows:
Adultery
1. Any married person who marries or cohabits with another person, any unmarried person who marries or cohabits with another person in the knowledge that he/she is already married and in any of the following circumstances shall receive a warning or face a penalty of up to 01 year's community sentence or 03 - 12 months' imprisonment:
a) The offence results in the divorce of one or both parties;
b) The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offence.
2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 06 - 36 months'' imprisonment:
a) The offence results in the suicide of the spouse or child of either party;
b) The court has issued a decision on dissolution of the marriage or compulsory termination of the cohabitation but the offender still defies such decision.
Accordingly, the crime of violating the monogamy and monogamy regime is prescribed with 2 specific penalty brackets as follows:
Bracket 1: any married person who marries or cohabits with another person, any unmarried person who marries or cohabits with another person in the knowledge that he/she is already married and in any of the following circumstances shall receive a warning or face a penalty of up to 01 year's community sentence or 03 - 12 months' imprisonment:
- The offence results in the divorce of one or both parties;
- The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offence.
Bracket 2: This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 06 - 36 months'' imprisonment:
- The offence results in the suicide of the spouse or child of either party;
- The court has issued a decision on dissolution of the marriage or compulsory termination of the cohabitation but the offender still defies such decision.
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