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  The Marriage Laws of Soviet Russia

The Russian Soviet Government Bureau

Complete text of first code of laws of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic dealing with Civil Status and Domestic Relations, Marriage, the Family and Guardianship.
 

TITLE II  MARRIAGE

CHAPTER I

 

Forms of Marriage

 

52. Only civil marriage registered with the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall create the rights and duties of husband and wife as provided in the present title. A marriage contracted by a religious ceremony performed by a clergyman shall create no rights or duties for the parties to such marriage unless the same shall be registered according to law.

 

Note. Church and religious marriages contracted up to December 20, 1917, in conformity with the rules and forms prescribed in Sections 3, 5, 12, 20 and 31 and 90 of the Civil Laws in effect heretofore (the former Compiled Statutes, Vol. X, Part I, edition

 

1914), shall be deemed of equal validity with marriages effected by registration.

 

53. Marriages shall be registered at the local Bureau of Vital Statistics, or where there are no such bureaus, in the notarial divisions of local Soviets.

 

Note I.

 

The contracting of marriages abroad shall be made before the foreign representatives of Russia, who shall report the same to the Central Bureau of Vital Statistics and shall transmit to the latter a copy of the marriage certificate.

 

Note II. The contracting of marriages on board a ship on the high seas or in the army while the same is engaged in active military operations shall be made before the officials mentioned in Note II of preceding Section 1.

 

54. Marriages shall be contracted publicly in a building specially designated for that purpose. From this rule shall be excepted marriages contracted on board a ship on the high seas, in the army engaged in active military operations, all well as in cases when a medical certificate is issued stating that the bridegroom or the bride is incapacitated by illness to appear at the government office.

 

55. Marriages shall be contracted in the pres­ence of the Chief of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or his deputy, by whom 'the entry shall be made; and in the notarial divisions, in the presence of the notary and his secretary.

 

56. The names of the officials registering marriages shall be made known by publication in the local newspapers and shall be posted in the buildings where marriages are registered.

 

57. Registration of marriages shall take place on certain days and between certain hours determ­ined and made public by the officials charged with the keeping of said records.

 

58. The parties intending to marry shall give oral or written notice of said intention to the Bureau of Vital Statistics located nearest to their place Of residence.

 

59. The said notice of intention shall have appended thereto certificates of the identity of the parties to he married and their signatures and a declaration that the said parties are voluntarily entering into marriage and that there are no impediments thereto as set forth in Sections 66-69 following.

 

Note. The identity of the parties to the marriage may be proved by certificates, documents, witnesses, or by any other means which may be determined by the official in charge.

 

60. The said official, after making an entry of the marriage in the Register of Marriages, shall read the same to the parties to the marriage and shall declare the marriage to have been contracted according to law.

 

61. Immediately upon recording the marriage, the official shall, upon the request of the parties thereto, issue to them a certificate of marriage.

 

62. The marriage shall be deemed in effect from the moment the entry thereof is made in the Register of Marriages.

 

63. In case notice of the existence of legal im­pediments to a marriage be received prior to the entry thereof in the Register, the official in charge shall suspend said entry until the matter be de­termined by the local court. Objections to a marriage which are obviously groundless may be dis-

regarded by the official without further examina­tion of the matter.

 

Note. The local courts shall try the suits brought to restrain the contracting of marriages as preferred causes and not later than within three days after the commencement of such suits. No appeal shall lie from the deci­ sion of the local court in such a case.

 

64. Persons making deliberately false statements with a view to preventing the contracting of a marriage shall be liable to prosecution for perjury and to an action for damages caused by their interference.

 

65. Appeals against a refusal to register a mar­riage may be brought at any time before the local court within whose jurisdiction the respective Bu­reau of Vital Statistics is located.

 

CHAPTER II

 

Prerequisites Necessary for Contracting Marriage

 

66. Persons intending to marry must have attained the matrimonial age. The matrimonial age shall be sixteen years for females and eighteen years for males.

 

67. Persons intending to marry must be of sound mind.

 

68. No person shall be capable of contracting a new marriage who is already living in a state of registered marriage or of unregistered marriage having the same validity as registered marriage.

 

69. Marriage is prohibited between all rela­tives in direct line, and between full or half broth­ers and sisters.

 

Note. The impediment to marriage be­tween relatives mentioned in this Section shall include likewise consanguinity arising from birth out of wedlock.

 

70. No marriage may be contracted without the mutual consent of the parties thereto.

 

71. Difference of religion of persons intending to marry shall not be considered an impediment to their marriage.

 

72. The monastic state, priesthood, or deacon­hood shall not be considered impediments to marriage.

 

73. A vow of celibacy whether taken by a member of the white or black clergy (*) shall not be considered an impediment to marriage.

* "Black Clergy" in Russian ecclesiastical terminology means the membership of monastic orders; "White Clergy" means the non-monastic clergy. Under the rules of the Greek-Russian Ortliodox Catholic Church a priest is not permitted to marry. This prohibition was evaded by the candidate for priesthood marrying before his ordination. Widowed priests, however, were prohibited from remarrying. (Ed. note.)

 

 

CHAPTER III

 

Invalidity of Marriage

 

74. A marriage may be annulled only in cases determined by law.

 

75. An action for the annulment of marriage may be commence.d by the husband or the wife, or by persons whose interests are affected by the marriage, or by representatives of the government.

 

76. Actions for the annulment of marriage shall be tried by the local courts which shall proceed in accordance with the rules in effect within their jurisdiction.

 

77. A marriage shall be deemed void if both or either of the parties thereto had not attained the matrimonial age, except in the following cases:

 

{a) where the action for the annulment of the marriage has been commenced by the plain­ tiff after the attainment of the matrimonial age.

 

(b) where subsequent to the marriage children were born or the wife has become pregnant.

 

78. A marriage shall be considered void if con­tracted by an insane person, or by a person in­capable of acting with discernment or understand­ in the significance of his or her acts.

 

79. A marriage shall be void if contracted at a time when one of the parties thereto was already married, such previous marriage still continuing in force and not having been dissolved by the death of the former husband or wife, or by divorce.

 

80. In case a marriage be declared void on the ground stated in Section 79, the marriage previously contracted shall remain in force.

 

81. A marriage shall be deemed void if contracted without the consent of either of the parties thereto, or when such consent was given in an un­conscious state or under duress.

 

82. Ecclesiastical and religious marriages con­tracted before the 20th of December, 1917, shall be deemed to be void, if the conditions and forms set forth in Sections 3, 5, 12, 20, 28, 31 of the Civil Laws then in effect (Compiled Statutes of the Russian Empire, Vol. X, Part 1, ed. 1914) were not complied with.

 

Note. Marriages referred to in the preced­ing section, if contracted in violation of Sec­tion 23, Vol. X, Part 1, Compiled Statutes, ed. 1914, then in effect, shall be deemed valid, un­ less the parties to the marriage be relatives in the direct ascending and descending lines or full or half brothers and sisters.

 

83. Upon the rendering of a decree declaring the annulment of a marriage, the marriage shall be considered void as from the moment of its con· traction.

 

84. Persons whose marriage was annulled may remarry conformably to the general rules relating to marriage.

 

CHAPTER IV

 

Dissolution of Marriage

 

85. Marriage is dissolved by the death of either party thereto or by a decision of a court adjudging either of the parties dead.

 

86. Marriage may be dissolved by divorce during the lifetime of the parties thereto.

 

Note. The provisions of the present act relating to divorce shall likewise apply to ec­clesiastic and religious marriages contracted up to December 20, 1917.

 

87. The mutual consent of the husband and wife or the desire of either of them to obtain a divorce shall be considered a ground for divorce.

 

88. A petition for the dissolution of marriage may be presented orally or in writing and an of­ficial report shall be drawn thereon.

 

89. The petition for the dissolution of marriage must be accompanied by the certificate of marriage, or, in the absence thereof, by a declaration signed by the petitioner to the effect that the parties are married, stating the place where the marriage was performed. The party making the declaration shall be responsible for the accuracy thereof.

 

90. The petition for the dissolution of marriage shall be presented to the local court having jurisdiction of the district where the parties to the marriage reside, or to any local court chosen by both parties to the action. If the action for divorce is brought by one of the parties only, the petition shall be presented to the court which has jurisdiction over the residence of the plaintiff or the defendant:

 

Note. In case the residence of the defend­ant he unknown and the petition for the dis­solution of the marriage is presented to the court having jurisdiction over the place of residence of the plaintiff, the summons shall he issued in the form prescribed for cases where the residence of the defendant is un­ known.

 

91. Where the application for the dissolution of the marriage is made by the mutual consent of both parties, the petition may be presented either to the local court or to the office for the registration of marriages wherein the marriage was originally registered.

 

92. The chief of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, upon being satisfied that the petition for the dis­ solution of the marriage has actually been presented by both parties, shall make an entry recording the dissolution of the marriage, and shall de­liver to the parties, at their request, a certificate of divorce.

 

93. Actions for divorce shall be tried by the local judge in public.

 

94. Every local judge shall fix certain hours, at least once a week, for the trial of actions for divorce.

 

95. In case both parties or their attorneys ap­pear before the local court, the judge may try the case immediately, provided that such trial shall not interfere with the calendar of that day.

 

96. Upon the receipt of a petition for dissolu­tion of marriage by mutual consent, the court shall set the day for the examination of the petition and shall give notice thereof to the parties and their attorneys.

 

97. Upon rendering a decision for the dissolu­tion of a marriage, the judge shall issue to the parties, upon their application, a certificate of divorce, and shall transmit not later than within three days thereafter a copy of his decision to the local Bureau of Vital Statistics, or to any other institution wherein the marriage so dissolved was registered.

 

98. The decision of the local court in an action for the dissolution of marriage may be appealed from in the usual manner to the Court of Cassa­tion* and shall not take effect until the expiration of the time for appealing to the Court of Cassation, unless the parties to the action have waived their intention to appeal.

 

99. No action for the dissolution of a marriage shall be commenced after the death of one of the parties thereto or after the annulment of the mar­riage; a pending action shall be terminated by the death of one of the parties, or by the annulment of the marriage.

 

• The Court of Cassation is the French and Russian equivalent of the American court of errors.-(Ed. note. )

 

 

CHAPTER V

 

Rights and Duties of Spouses

 

100. The parties to a marriage shall possess a common surname (a surname by matrimony). At the time of the marriage they shall determine whether they will adopt the husband's (bride­ groom's) or wife's (bride's) or their joint surname.

 

101. The parties to a marriage shall keep their surname by matrimony during the continuance of the state of marriage and also after the dissolution of said state by reason either of death or a declaration by the court that one of the parties to the said marriage shall he deemed to he dead.

 

102. The petition asking for a dissolution of marriage by divorce shall state by what surname the parties to the marriage shall he known there­after. In default of an agreement between them on this question, the divorced persons shall he known respectively by the surname which each of them bore prior to their marriage.

 

103. If the parties to a marriage shall he of dif­ferent citizenship, provided that one of the parties is a Russian citizen, the change in citizenship, if any, shall he made only in accordance with the wishes expressed by the bridegroom or the bride pursuant to the general rules relating to citizenship.

 

104. The change of residence by one of the parties to a marriage shall not impose an obligation upon the other party to follow the former.

 

105. Marriage does not establish community of property between the married persons.

 

106. Married persons may enter into mutual lawful contracts pertaining to their property. Agreements concluded between married persons tending to impair the rights of the husband or the wife over his or her properties shall be deemed void and not binding upon any person whatso­ever including the parties to said agreements.

 

107. A party to a marriage incapacitated for any work and in a state of need (i.e. unable to provide the minimum living expenses) shall he entitled to receive support from the other party

provided the latter shall be able to afford such support.

 

108. If one of the parties to a marriage shall refuse to support the other in case of want and inability to work, the latter party shall have the right to apply to the Department of Social Welfare attached to the local Soviet in the place of resi­dence of the defendant whether husband or wife, and request the same to compel the said defendant to provide such support.

 

109. A petition for the provision of support shall be free of stamp duty and may be presented personally or sent by mail, or may be made orally, in which case it shall be embodied in an official report.

 

110. The Department of Social Welfare, upon the receipt of such petition, shall summon the plain­tiff and the defendant or, should it be convenient, shall communicate with them by mail.

 

111. The Department of Social Welfare, after making a thorough inquiry and ascertaining the justice of the claims so presented, shall decree that support shall be provided and shall determine the amount and form thereof.

 

112. The decision of the Department of Social Welfare relating to the provision of support shall be announced in an open session not later than one month from the day of the receipt of the petition.

 

113. The Department of Social Welfare in de­termining the amount and the form of the payment for maintenance shall take into consideration the degree of exigency and the petitioner's ability to work, as well as the minimum living wage, as fixed by the collective agreements concluded between workmen and employers in the locality under consideration.

 

Note. Persons under age, men who have attained the age of 55 years , and women who have attained the age of 50 years shall be considered, without any additional proof. as incapable of performing any work.

 

114. The Department of Social Welfare shall not be permitted to make a decision substituting all  aggregate sum in lieu of periodical payments for maintenance.

 

115. The decision of the Department of Social Welfare relating to the provision of support, the form and the amount thereof, shall be obligatory upon all persons and institutions, shall have the force of a judicial decision and shall be executed in pursuance of the general rules prescribed therefor.

 

116. Appeals by the interested parties against the decisions of the Department of Social Welfare may be brought at any time in the local courts.

 

117. The local court in deciding questions pertaining to the payment of support and in de­termining the amount and form thereof shall take into consideration the principles set forth in Sec­tions 109, 111, and 114 and the general regulations of the legal procedure prescribed for the local people's court.

 

118. A decision of the local court on any question raised by the appeal shall be subject to a further appeal in accordance with the general rules · prescribed therefor.

 

119. - In case either of the married persons shall be in a state of want and shall be unable to work at the time when their marriage shall be terminated by death or by a judicial declaration that one of the parties to the said marriage shall be deemed to be dead, provision for the surviving party shall be made out of the property left by the deceased spouse.

 

120. Support shall also be granted to a married person indigent and unable to work whose husband or wife has been declared absent.

 

121. In case the person dead or judicially declared to be dead or absent shall be the owner of a trading or an industrial enterprise, the survivor shall be entitled to support derived from the in­ come of the said enterprise, which shall be man­aged thenceforth by the local Soviet.

 

122. Petitions pertaining to the provision of support in cases specified in Sections 119 to 121 shall be presented to the Department of Social Welfare attached to the local Soviet at the last place of residence of the person deceased or de­clared to be dead or absent.

 

123. In cases of immediate urgency provi­ sion for the support of the surviving party to a mar­riage may he made temporarily by the institution engaged in the preparation of the inventory and valuation of the property left by the deceased.

 

Note. Notice of payments made by such institution pursuant to this section shall be immediately transmitted to the proper department of social welfare. In case there is a difference of opinion on the question of pay­ment between the said institution and the said department, the matter in dispute shall be transmitted to a local court for due consid­eration. Payments of support shall be made without interruption until the original order shall be reversed by the court.

 

124. The Department of Social Welfare in de­ciding questions pertaining to the provision of sup­port and in determining the amount and form thereof shall be guided by Sections 110, 111 and 114.

 

125. The decisions of the Department of Social Welfare may be appealed from at any time by the interested parties by filing a suit in a local court in the form prescribed by law.

 

126. In case the matter in dispute between the plaintiff and the Department of Social Welfare shall not affect the right to support, hut shall merely extend to the question of the amount and form thereof, the payment shall be based on the amount and form ordered by the Department of Social Welfare until such time as the final decision shall be rendered thereon by a court.

 

127. The institution in charge of the property of a deceased married person may within one month from the date of the said order file an appeal to the People's Commissariat of Social Welfare. In case the Commissariat of Social Welfare shall reverse the order, the matter in dispute shall be transmitted for the consideration of the local court. The filing of the appeal shall not cause any interruption in the provision of support until the final settlement of the matter in dispute shall be arrived at by the People's Commissariat of Social Welfare or the local court.

 

128. Provision for the support of the husband or wife out of the property of the deceased spouse be made on equal terms with the payments made to the relatives of the deceased, but in preference to the creditors of the estate of the deceased.

 

129. In case the total estate of the deceased shall not exceed in value 10,000 rubles and shall consist of a house, furniture and working imple­ ments for agricultural or trade purposes, the said estate shall be delivered for administration to the surviving spouse who shall dispose of the estate in equal share with the relatives entitled to share in the estate of the deceased.

 

Note. In case a dispute between the relatives and the spouse of the deceased shall arise per­taining to the administration of the estate men­tioned in the present section the matter shall be decided by the local court.

 

130. The right of a spouse to maintenance in case of indigence and inability to work shall not be affected by a dissolution of the marriage by divorce until such time as a change in the conditions en­ titling to maintenance have occurred (Section 107 above.)

 

131. In case the parties to a divorce come to an agreement on the question of support, the court, simultaneously with the rendering of a decision pertaining to the dissolution of marriage, shall determine the amount and form of the payment to be made by one spouse to another.

 

132. In case of disagreement between the par· ties to a divorce, the right of support, the amount and the form thereof, shall be considered in an ordinary law suit by the local court irrespective of the amount involved. Prior to the final settle­ment of the dispute, the spouse who is indigent and unable to work shall be paid temporarily in an amount and form as determined by the court which has made the decree dissolving the marriage.