Marriage in practice and related judgments in Vietnam

Hello, Lawnet would like to answer your questions as follows:

An actual marriage is a case where a man and a woman live together and satisfy the conditions prescribed by law but do not carry out the marriage registration procedure, are recognized by the law as a legal marriage, and have the same rights, interests, and obligations as a legal marriage.

TTLT 01/2001/TANDTC-VKSNDTC-BTP stipulates cases where a man and woman have not registered their marriage but are still recognized as an actual marriage, including:

-The two parties, a man and a woman, lived together as husband and wife and established a husband and wife relationship before January 3, 1987.

-The two parties live together as husband and wife after the time the Law on Marriage and Family 1986 took effect until January 1, 2001.

The actual marriage cases are clearly defined in the Vietnamese legal system in order to encourage the registration of marriage between male and female parties living together and is the legal basis for solving difficulties and problems encountered when the issues related to this marriage relationship are in dispute.

Here is a summary of some judgments on marriage in practice. Please refer to:

1. Judgment on not recognizing as husband and wife No. 03/2021/HNGĐ-ST

- Level of trial: First instance

- Judicial body: People's Court of Kon Ray district, Kon Tum province

- Summary: From 1987 to April 2021, she and Nguyen Thanh Tr voluntarily lived together as husband and wife but did not register their marriage. When they first lived together, they were very happy, but recently, they have had conflicts and quarrels due to disagreements in business. In addition, Mr. Tr often drinks and disrupts, making family life unhappy. Ms. B no longer has feelings for Mr. Tr, and she realized that the marriage purpose was not achieved, so she proposed to the People's Court of Kon Ray district to settle her divorce from Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tr.

- Court decision: Do not recognize Ms. Ho Thi B and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tr as husband and wife.

2. Judgment on not recognizing as husband and wife No. 246/2021/HNGĐ-ST

- Level of trial: First instance

- Judicial body: People's Court of Yen Son district, Tuyen Quang province

- Summary: Ms. Luyen and Mr. D were married without marriage registration from 2006 to 2021. The husband and wife had conflicts. The cause of the conflict was the couple's frequent withdrawals and beatings. She could not reconcile and live together, so she asked the court to grant her divorce from Mr. Dang Van D.

- Court decision: Declaration not to recognize the husband and wife relationship between Ms. Ban Thi L and Mr. Dang Van D.

3. Judgment 196/2020/HNGĐ-ST dated September 23, 2020 on divorce

- Level of trial: First instance

- Judicial body: People's Court of Que Son district, Quang Nam province

- Summary: Mr. and Mrs. Le Thi Kim Kh organized a family building in 1985 but did not register their marriage. He and his wife did not get along while living together; they were unhappy due to life disagreements.For nearly 10 years, the grandparents have not lived together, and he has a stepchild over 10 years old. Now he realizes that the couple's love is no longer there, so he asks for a divorce from Mrs. Kh.

- Court decision: for divorce between Mr. Nguyen Van Th and Ms. Le Thi Kim Kh

4. Judgment 299/2018/HNGĐ-PT dated 22/03/2018 on divorce and property division upon divorce

- Level of trial: Appellate

- Judicial body: Ho Chi Minh City People's Court

- Summary: Ms. Luu Kim L., the plaintiff, stated that she and Mr. Tran Ly S lived together in 1974.They registered their marriage late in 2007, according to Marriage Certificate No. 181 issued by the Commission. People of Ward B, District P, Ho Chi Minh City, issued on July 16, 2007. The first time they lived happily together, then conflicts arose due to inappropriate views on life. Now, realizing that the love is no longer there, the marriage purpose has not been achieved, so she asked for a divorce from Mr. Tran Ly S.

Meanwhile, on the defendant's side, Mr. S: He did not accept the marriage registration certificate between him and Ms. Luu Kim L because the identity in the section of the husband or wife's name does not have an identity card number. Therefore, he filed a counterclaim requesting the cancellation of the above marriage registration certificate. In addition, from 1979 until now, he has lived with Ms. Vong A M, has had a wedding ceremony but has not registered for marriage, and has 05 children in common. He requested the Court to recognize the actual marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Vong A M.

- Court decision: To recognize the consent to divorce between Ms. Luu Kim L and Mr. Tran Ly S. Not to recognize the marriage between Mr. S and Ms. Vong A M.

5. Judgment on not recognizing as husband and wife No. 28/2021/HNGĐ-ST

- Level of trial: First instance

- Judicial body: People's Court of Ham Tan district, Binh Thuan province

- Summary: Ms. Ly Thi T and Mr. Nguyen Quoc V have voluntarily lived together since 1993 but have not yet registered their marriage. In the process of living together, he and she had many conflicts, often quarreling with each other. In life, there is no longer love for each other, so she and V have not lived together since 2014. Since the husband and wife feelings are no longer there, she asked the Court to settle the divorce between her and Mr. V.

- Court decision: not recognizing the husband and wife relationship between Ms. Ly Thi T and Mr. Nguyen Quoc V.

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