The Development Of Matrimonial Property Law In Vietnam In Mirror Of The Foreign Impacts

The Development of Matrimonial Property Law in Vietnam in the Mirror of the Foreign Impacts by Nguyen Thi My Linh Supervisor: Prof Dr Herger Csabáné Submitted under the requirements for the degree of Doctoral School of Law Pécs, 2022 DECLARATION I, Nguyen Thi My Linh, hereby declare that this dissertation is my original work compiled from field data and documentaries and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other learning institution for a similar or any other award I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Zsófia Zelnik and Klára Hőnig Signature ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During my research work, there were some people who in one way or another made significant contributions to enable me to reach this final stage Though, it is hard to mention them all by their names; however, I would love to mention some of them I would like to show my appreciation to the members of my supervisory committee, Prof Dr Herger Csabáné, Dr Niklai Patrícia Dominika, Dr Krausz Bernadett, Dr Habil Benke József, Dr Habil Till Péter, Assoc Prof Dr Hegedűs Andrea for their support and assistance in the completion of this dissertation I especially thank my supervisor, Prof Dr Herger Csabáné, who inspired my interest in legal history and played a key role in supervising me despite having other responsibilities, without her this work could not been a success I deeply appreciate the Tempus Foundation and the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship for their financial support during my four years of study in Pécs I also value the friendship and efforts of the staff of the Legal History Department, the Doctoral School of Law at the University of Pécs, and the Administrative Staff of the Faculty of Law I also convey my sincere gratitude to my parents and my husband for their sponsorship, encouragement, constructive ideas and kindness that enabled me to complete all the academic requirements including this study more effectively Special thanks go to my friends in Pécs and my colleagues for supporting me during the whole period of undertaking the study I appreciate their contributions TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER OBJECT AND METHOD OF RESEARCH 13 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 13 1.2 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY 16 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 20 1.3.1 Objectives of the study 20 1.3.2 The research questions 21 1.3.3 Methodology and research sources 21 CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT OF MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW IN VIETNAM 24 2.1 THE MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW FROM THE FORMATION OF THE STATE TO THE FEUDAL PERIOD IN VIETNAM (AROUND 258 BC TO 1858) 24 2.1.1 Family institutions in the early stages of the state’s formation 24 2.1.2 Regulations on matrimonial property under the Hong Duc Code (1470-1497) 25 2.1.3 Regulations on matrimonial property under Gia Long Law 1812 28 2.2 THE MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY REGIME DURING THE FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD (FROM 1858 TO 1945) 34 2.2.1 General principles of the family law and their impact on the marital property legislation 37 2.2.2 The marital property regulations in Vietnam between 1858 and 1954 40 2.3 MARITAL PROPERTY LAW AFTER THE AUGUST REVOLUTION (1945) 54 2.3.1 Basic principles of family law in North Vietnam after the independence (1945–1975) and the reunification 54 2.3.2 Fundamental family policies of Soviet bloc countries during the period 1920s and their impacts on Vietnamese matrimonial property law 57 CHAPTER MARITAL PROPERTY LAW IN MODERN VIETNAM 73 3.1 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY LAW AND THEIR IMPACT ON MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW 73 3.1.1 Principles of Vietnamese civil law relating to family law 74 3.1.2 General principles of family law in Vietnam 79 3.1.3 The general principle of the application of property regimes 86 3.1.4 Principles of European Family Law on matrimonial property relations between spouses 88 3.2 STATUTORY PROPERTY REGIME 89 3.2.1 Principles regulating the statutory property regime 91 3.2.2 Common property in the statutory property regime 92 3.2.3 Separate property in the statutory property regime 103 3.2.4 Using and handling assets under the statutory property regime 114 3.2.5 Responsibility stemming from exercising the right of disposition 120 3.2.6 Comparative Law: European countries and Hungary in the aspect of matrimonial property law and the statutory property regime 128 3.3 MARITAL AGREEMENT PROPERTY REGIME 137 3.3.1 The establishment of the matrimonial agreement 138 3.3.2 Basic contents of an agreement on the matrimonial property regime 139 3.3.3 Modification and invalidation issues relating to an agreed property regime 144 3.3.4 Termination of the matrimonial agreement property regime 147 3.3.5 The difference between a marital agreement and a statutory property regime and Hungarian law in comparision 149 3.4 THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF DIVORCE FOR MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY 153 3.4.1 Legal overview of divorce 153 3.4.2 Legal consequences of divorce 156 3.4.3 Analysing division of common property of husband and wife in specific cases 164 3.4.4 Payment of the common property obligations of husband and wife upon divorce 170 3.4.5 Parental obligations to care for, raise and educate children and property relations upon divorce 171 3.4.6 Maintenance of a relative following divorce 185 3.4.7 European private law with respect to divorce and legal separation 188 3.5 PROPERTY RELATIONS RESULTING FROM THE DEATH OF THE SPOUSES 198 3.5.1 The concept of death or being declared dead by the Court 198 3.5.2 Legal consequences of when one of the spouses dies or is declared dead by the Court 199 3.5.3 Personal and property relations when one spouse is declared dead but later returns 203 3.5.4 Comparative Law: European countries and Hungary with regard to the spouse’s inheritance 204 3.6 LEGAL PROPERTY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ANNULMENT OF AN ILLEGAL MARRIAGE 206 3.6.1 Cases of cancellation of illicit marriages 206 3.6.2 Property solutions when annulling illegal marriage 209 3.6.3 Hungarian law in comparison 210 CHAPTER CONJUGAL PROPERTY RIGHTS TO COHABITATIONS 212 4.1 THE COHABITATION’S PROPERTY RIGHTS 212 4.1.1 Principles for resolving property relations between cohabitants 212 4.1.2 An exception for cohabitation before January 3, 1987 226 4.2 COMPARATIVE LAW: EUROPEAN AND HUNGARIAN LAWS IN THE ASPECTS OF COHABITATION, CIVIL UNION AND REGISTERED PARTNERSHIP 230 CHAPTER RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 237 5.1 FINDINGS 237 5.2 CONCLUSION 241 5.2.1 Strengthening propaganda to raise awareness of property rights for women to contribute to ensuring gender equality 241 5.2.2 Prenuptial and antenuptial agreement property: the need for acknowledgement 243 5.2.3 The need to register a registered partnership for cohabitation in order to secure the rights and obligations arising between the partners 244 5.2.4 The need to recognize the legal separation regime in Vietnamese law to ensure transparency in the ownership of spouses during separation 244 5.3 RECOMMENDATION 245 REFERENCES 248 ABBREVIATIONS EU CC Art ECHR UNICEF European Union Civil Code Article The European Convention on Human Rights United Nations Children’s Fund THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW IN VIETNAM IN THE MIRROR OF THE FOREIGN IMPACTS Abstract Family law has become, to an unexpected extent, at the core of comparative law studies aimed at achieving legal unity By examining convergence and harmonization ideas in Vietnam to law and development programs around the world, comparative family law studies are diverse and crucial Matrimonial law in Vietnam witnessed dramatic changes under the influence from east to west by the historical Chinese (178 BC-939) and French (1858-1954) conquests Northern Vietnam was occupied by the Communist Party in 1945 and has since advanced toward a socialist vision Following its reunification in 1975, Vietnam implemented a variety of civil codes that were heavily influenced by those of France, Germany, and Switzerland This demonstrates that European civil and family law has had a substantial influence on Vietnamese law, both historically and currently Studying European laws is very beneficial because the continental European legal system is regarded as the world's largest As a result, the overall goal of this research was to compare the development of matrimonial property law in Vietnam to Chinese, French, Soviet, European, and Hungarian family laws The dissertation is divided into five chapters that discuss marital property in Vietnam in comparison to Chinese, French, Soviet, EU, and Hungarian family laws Chapter provides insight into the historical history of marital property in Vietnam, from traditional society to feudalism to colonialism to independence and communist growth Chapter not only examines and studies Vietnamese marital property law, but also compares it to the laws of other countries having ties to Vietnam's history at the time, such as China, France, and the Soviet Union In Chapter 2, the dissertation examines contemporary marital property legislation, covering basic concepts and foundations for the development of various categories of marital property Chapter focuses on the legal implications for marital property when the spouses separate or one party dies, or when the marriage is annulled The property relationship between cohabiting couples is also a problem that arises in practice and necessitates suitable legal structures, thus Chapter explores this subject Finally, Chapter concisely summarizes the entire thesis work, offering remedies to existing difficulties in Vietnam through the inclusion of EU and Hungarian laws into domestic legislation or amendments to present matrimonial property law Key Words: Comparative matrimonial property law; Vietnam v EU; Hungarian family law 11 ... PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY LAW AND THEIR IMPACT ON MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW 73 3.1.1 Principles of Vietnamese civil law relating to family law 74 3.1.2 General principles of family law in Vietnam. .. Article The European Convention on Human Rights United Nations Children’s Fund THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY LAW IN VIETNAM IN THE MIRROR OF THE FOREIGN IMPACTS Abstract Family law has... during my four years of study in Pécs I also value the friendship and efforts of the staff of the Legal History Department, the Doctoral School of Law at the University of Pécs, and the Administrative