Forced Marriage is Illegal

The fundamental principles of marriage and family policies are voluntary, progressive marriage, monogamy, and equality between husband and wife. However, the custom of "Parents decide, children comply," which has existed since ancient times and continues to the present day, has broken this fundamental principle.

It is possible that parents always want the best for their children. They believe that living in a grand house, driving luxury cars, and eating exquisite dishes is happiness. However, receiving love, care, and sharing from the person one truly loves is genuine happiness.

Furthermore, parents may not know that forced marriage is one of the illegal marriage cases if the marriage goes against the wishes of those involved, and such a marriage will be annulled. To be specific: Vietnamese law stipulates this issue as follows:

According to Clause 9, Article 3 of the Marriage and Family Law 2014, it is stipulated: "Forced marriage is the act of threatening, intimidating, mistreating, demanding property, or other actions to force another person to marry against their will."

An important issue to be mentioned here is the clear distinction between coercion and persuasion. If the child, after hearing the parents' opinions, voluntarily marries, that marriage and subsequent spousal relationship will still be protected by law under the marriage and family regulations.

In cases of coercion, the coerced person has the complete right to request the annulment of that illegal marriage. According to Clause 1, Article 10 of the Marriage and Family Law 2014, those who are forced into marriage, in accordance with civil procedure law, have the right to request or propose to individuals or organizations to request the Court to annul the illegal marriage.

The consequences of the annulment of an illegal marriage are stipulated in Article 12 of the Marriage and Family Law 2014:

1. When an illegal marriage is annulled, both parties must terminate the spousal relationship.
2. The rights and obligations of parents and children will be resolved according to the regulations on parents' and children's rights and obligations upon divorce.
3. Property relations, obligations, and contracts between the parties will be resolved according to the parties' agreement; in the absence of an agreement, they will be resolved according to civil law and other relevant regulations.

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