# Annotated Republic of China Laws/Civil Code/Part IV

| ←Part III | Civil Code Republic of China Law from Mainland Era to Taiwan Part IV Family | Part V→ |

# History

* Promulgated on December 26, 1930
    Effective from May 5, 1931
* As amended on June 26, 2002
* As amended on May 23, 2007
* Amended on January 9, 2008
* Amended on May 23,2008
* Amended on April 29, 2009
* Amended on December 30, 2009
* Amended on January 27, 2010
* Amended on May 19, 2010
* Amended on December 26, 2012
* Amended on December 11, 2013
* Amended on January 29, 2014
* Amended on January 14, 2015

# Contents

    Articles 986, 987, 992, 993, 994, 1006, 1009, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1015, 1016, 1019, 1020, 1021, 1024, 1025, 1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, 1030, 1035, 1036, 1037, 1042, 1043, 1045, 1047, 1048, 1051, 1068, 1071, 1103-1, and 1105 have been deleted.
    Articles 979-1, 979-2, 988-1, 1003-1, 1018-1, 1020-1, 1020-2, 1030-2, 1030-3, 1030-4, 1031-1, 1052-1, 1055-2, 1069-1, 1076-1, 1076-2, 1079-3, 1079-4, 1079-5, 1080-1, 1080-2, 1080-3, 1083-1, 1089-1, 1094-1, 1099-1, 1106-1, 1109-1, 1109-2, 1111-1, 1112-1, 1112-2, 1113-1, 1116-1, 1116-2, and 1118-1 have been added.
    Articles 971, 977, 982, 983, 985, 988, 999-1, 1000, 1002, 1007, 1008, 1008-1, 1010, 1017, 1018, 1022, 1023, 1030-1, 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1038, 1040, 1041, 1044, 1046, 1050, 1052, 1055, 1055-1, 1058, 1059, 1059-1, 1060, 1062, 1063, 1067, 1070, 1073, 1073-1, 1074, 1075, 1076, 1077, 1078, 1079, 1079-1, 1079-2, 1080, 1081, 1082, 1083, 1084, 1086, 1088, 1089, 1090, 1092, 1093, 1094, 1095, 1096, 1097, 1098, 1099, 1100, 1101, 1103, 1104, 1106, 1107, 1108, 1109, 1110, 1111, 1111-2, 1112, 1113, 1118, 1120, 1131, 1132, and 1133 have been amended.

## Chapter I, General Provisions (967-971)
### Article 967

* The lineal relative by blood is the relative by blood of a person from whom that person is descended or he who is descended from that person.
* The collateral relative by blood is the nonlineal relative of a person who is descended from the same common ancestor as that person himself is.

### Article 968

* The degree of relationship by blood between a person and his lineal relative by blood shall be determined by counting the number of generations upwards or downwards from himself [as the case may be], one generation being taken as one degree.　As between the person and his collateral relative, the degree of relationship shall be determined by the total number of generations counting upwards from himself to the common lineal ancestor and then from such common ancestor downwards to the relative by blood with whom the degree of relationship is to be determined.

### Article 969

* The relative by marriage of a person includes the spouse of his relative by blood, the relative by blood of his spouse and the person who is married to the relative by blood of his spouse.

### Article 970

* The line and degree of relationship between relatives by marriage shall be determined as follows:
* In regard to the spouse of a relative by blood, by the line and degree of relationship of the person who is married to the said spouse;
* In regard to a relative by blood of a spouse, by the line and the degree of relationship between such relative by blood and the said spouse;
* In regard to the person who is married to the relative by blood of his spouse, by the line and the degree of relationship between such person and the said spouse.

### Article 971 (later amended)
## Chapter II, Marriage
### Section 1 - Betrothal (972-979)
#### Article 972

* An agreement to marry shall be made by the male and the female parties in their own [con]cord.

#### Article 973

* A male who has not reached his seventeenth year of age and a female her fifteenth [ma]y not make an agreement to marry.

#### Article 974

* Where a minor makes an agreement to marry, he shall obtain the consent of his statutory agent in advance.

#### Article 975

* No demand shall be made to force the performance of an agreement to marry.

#### Article 976

* Where one of the betrothed parties is found in one of the following conditions, the [other] party may dissolve the agreement to marry:
* Where, having made an agreement to marry, the party made another agreement to marry or concluded a marriage with another person;
* Where the party willfully fails to observe the appointed date of marriage;
* Where the party’s life has been uncertain for over a year;
* Where the party gets a serious and incurable disease;
* Where the party gets a venereal or other loathsome disease;
* Where, having made the agreement to marry, the party becomes permanently disabled;
* Where, having made the agreement to marry, the party had sexual intercourse with a third person;
* Where, having made the agreement to marry, the party was sentenced to imprisonment;
* Where other grave reasons exist.
* In the case where a person intends to dissolve an agreement to marry according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and if the circumstances do not allowed him to declare such intention to the other party, it is not necessary for him to do so, and he is no longer bound by the agreement since the conditions described in the preceding paragraph have occurred.

#### Article 978

* One party to an agreement to marry, who breaks it without any of the grounds provided in Article 976, shall be liable to compensate the other party for any damage thus sustained.

#### Article 979

* In the case provided in the preceding article, the injured party may still claim an equitable compensation in money for a non-pecuniary loss, provide that he is not at fault.
* The claim in the preceding paragraph shall not be assigned to others or be passed to heirs, unless it has been acknowledged by a contract or unless an action has been commenced.

#### Article 979-2 (later added)
### Section 2 - Conclusion of Marriage (980-999)
#### Article 980

* A man who has not completed his eighteenth year of age and a woman her sixteenth may not conclude a marriage.

#### Article 981

* A minor must have the consent of his statutory agent for concluding a marriage.

#### Article 984

* A guardian may not marry his ward during the continuance of guardianship, unless consent of the ward's parents has been obtained.

#### Article 989

* Where a marriage is concluded contrary to the provision of Article 980, the party concerned or his statutory agent may apply to the court for its annulment; but such application may not be made, where the party concerned has attained the age specified in the said article or where the woman has become pregnant.

#### Article 990

* Where a marriage is concluded contrary to the provision of Article 981, the statutory agent may apply to the court for its annulment; but such application may not be made where six months have elapsed after the discovery of the fact or one year has elapsed after the conclusion of the marriage, or where the woman has become pregnant.

#### Article 991

* Where a marriage is concluded contrary to the provision of Article 984, the ward or his nearest relative may apply to the court for its annulment; but such application may not be made where one year has elapsed after the conclusion of the marriage.

#### Article 995

* Where one spouse is sexually impotent at the time of marriage and such incapacity is incurable, the other party may apply to the court for the annulment of the marriage; but the applicant may not make such application after three years from the time of awareness of such incurability.

#### Article 996

* Where, at the time of marriage, one spouse is in a condition of absence of discernment or mental disorder, such spouse may within six months after he is restored to normal condition apply to the court for the annulment of such marriage.

#### Article 997

* A person who has concluded a marriage by fraud or by duress may apply to the court for its annulment within six months after awareness of the fraud or after the cessation of the duress.

#### Article 998

* The effect of an annulment of marriage is not retroactive.

#### Article 999

* A party to a marriage who has sustained damage through nullity or annulment of the marriage may claim compensation from the other party.　This, however, does not apply where the other party is not at fault.
* In the case mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the injured party who is not at fault may also claim an equitable compensation in money though there is no pecuniary loss.
* The claim mentioned in the preceding paragraph is not transferable and does not pass to heirs, unless it has been acknowledged by contract or has involved litigation.

#### Article 999-1 (later amended)
### Section 3 - Efficacy of Marriage (1000-1003)
#### Article 1001

* The husband and the wife are under mutual obligation to cohabit, unless for a good cause they cannot live together.

#### Article 1003

* In daily household matters, the husband and the wife act as agents for each other.
* Where one of the parties abuses the aforesaid right of agency, the other party may restrict it, but such restriction cannot be set up against any bona fide third party.

#### Article 1003-1 (later added)
### Section 4 - Matrimonial Property Regimes
#### Subsection 1 - General Provisions (1004-1015)
##### Article 1004

* The husband and the wife may, before or after getting married, adopt by contract one of the contractual regimes provided by this Code as their matrimonial property regime.

##### Article 1005

* Where the husband and the wife have not contracted the holding of matrimonial property, unless otherwise provided by this Code, the statutory regime shall be applied.

##### Article 1012

* During the continuance of the marriage, the husband and the wife may, by contract, terminate their contract for the holding of property, or adopt any other contractual regime.

##### Article 1015 (later deleted)
#### Subsection 2 - Statutory Regimes (1016-1030)
##### Article 1030-4 (later added)
#### Subsection 3 - Contractual Regimes
##### Item 1 - Community of Property (1031-1041)
###### Article 1039

* Upon the death of one of the husband and the wife, half the common property shall pass to the heir of the deceased and the other half shall devolve on the surviving party.
* In the case of the division of property mentioned in the preceding paragraph, where some other agreement exists as to the amounts, such agreement shall be followed.
* In the case provided in the first paragraph, where the surviving party is by law unable to inherit, he may not claim a greater portion of the common property than he would get in the case of divorce.

###### Article 1041 (later amended)
##### Item 2 - (Repealed) (1042-1043)
###### Article 1043 (later deleted)
##### Item 3 - Separation of Property Regime (1044-1048)
###### Article 1048 (later deleted)
### Section 5 - Divorce (1049-1058)
#### Article 1049

* The husband and the wife may effect a divorce by themselves with their mutual consent; but in the case of a minor, the consent of his or her statutory agent must be obtained.

#### Article 1053

* In the cases specified in Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the preceding article, the party who has the right to claim may not apply for a [juridical decree of] divorce, where he or she has previously consented to the event or has condoned it afterward or has known of it for over six months, or where two years have elapsed after the occurrence of the event.

#### Article 1054

* In the cases specified in Subparagraphs 6 and 10 of Article 1052, the party who has the right to claim may not apply for a [juridical decree of] divorce, where one year has elapsed after he or she has known of the event or where five years have elapsed after the occurrence of the event.

#### Article 1056

* Where one of the husband and the wife has suffered damage from a judicial decree of divorce, he or she may claim compensation from the other party at fault.
* In the case provided in the preceding paragraph, the injured party may still claim an equitable compensation in money for a non-pecuniary loss, provided that he or she is not at fault.
* The claim mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be assigned to others or be passed to heirs, unless it has been acknowledged by a contract or unless an action has been commenced.

#### Article 1057

* Where the innocent party of the husband and the wife is reduced to difficulties in livelihood on account of a judicial decree of divorce, the other party, even if he or she is also innocent, shall pay an equitable alimony.

#### Article 1058 (later amended)
## CHAPTER III, Parents and Children (1059-1090)
### Article 1061

* A legitimate child is the child who is born with the conception during the marriage relationship.

### Article 1064

* A child born out of wedlock whose natural father and mother have concluded a marriage to each other is deemed to be legitimate.

### Article 1065

* A child born out of wedlock who has been acknowledge by the natural father is deemed to be legitimate; where he has been maintained by the natural father, acknowledgment is deemed to have been established.
* In the relation to his mother, a child born out of wedlock is deemed to be legitimate and no acknowledgment is necessary.

### Article 1066

* A child born out of wedlock or his mother may repudiate the acknowledgment by his natural father.

### Article 1069

* The effect of legitimation of a child born out of wedlock is retroactive as from the time of birth, but the existing rights of the third parties will not be affected thereby.

### Article 1072

* Where a person adopts the child of another as his own child, the adopter is called the adoptive father or adoptive mother and the person adopted is called the adopted son or adopted daughter.

### Article 1085

* Parents may, within the limit of necessity, inflict punishment upon their children.

### Article 1087

* Property which accrues to the minor children by inheritance, gift or other gratuitous title constitutes their separate property.

### Article 1090 (later amended)
## CHAPTER IV, Guardianship
### Section 1 - Guardianship over Minors (1091-1109)
#### Article 1091

* A guardian shall be appointed for a minor when he has no parent or when both the parents can not exercise the rights nor assume the duties in regard to the minor child.　But this does not apply where the minor has been married.

#### Article 1102

* A guardian shall not acquire the property from his ward.

#### Article 1109-2 (later added)
### Section 2 - Guardianship over Interdicted Persons (1110-1113)
#### Article 1113-1 (later added)
## CHAPTER V, Maintenance (1114-1121)
### Article 1114

* The following relatives are under a mutual obligation to maintain one another:
* Lineal relatives by blood;
* One of the husband and the wife and the parents of the other party living in the same household;
* Brothers and sisters;
* The head and the members of a house.

### Article 1115

* In case there are several persons bound to furnish maintenance, the order in which they are to perform such obligation is as follows:
* Younger lineal relatives by blood;
* Elder lineal relatives by blood;
* Head of the house;
* Brothers and sisters;
* Members of the house;
* Daughter-in-law and son-in-law;
* Parents of either the husband or the wife.
* Among the elder lineal relatives by blood or younger lineal relatives by blood, the person nearest in degree of relationship will be the first.
* If there are several persons bound to furnish maintenance and of the same degree of relationship, such obligation shall be borne by them according to their respective economic ability.

### Article 1116

* In case there are several persons entitled to maintenance, and the economic ability of the person bound to furnish maintenance is not sufficient to maintain all of them, the person to receive maintenance shall be determined in the following order:
* Elder lineal relatives by blood;
* Younger lineal relatives by blood;
* Members of the house;
* Brothers and sisters;
* Head of the house;
* Parents of either the husband or the wife;
* Daughter-in-law and son-in-law.
* Among elder lineal relatives by blood or younger lineal relatives by blood, the person nearest in degree of relationship will be the first.
* Where there are several persons entitled to maintenance and of the same degree of relationship, each shall receive maintenance according to their respective needs.

### Article 1117

* Persons entitled to maintenance shall be limited to those who can not support the living and are unable to earn the living.
* The limitation in respect of inability to earn a living in the preceding paragraph shall not apply to the case of the elder lineal relatives by blood.

### Article 1119

* The extent of furnishing maintenance shall be determined according to the needs of the person entitled to maintenance, and the economic ability and social status of the person bound to furnish it.

### Article 1121

* Either party may demand an alteration in the extent and the manner of furnishing maintenance on the ground of change of circumstances.

## CHAPTER VI, House (1122-1128)
### Article 1122

* A house is a community of relatives who live　in the same household with the object of maintaining the common living permanently.

### Article 1123

* Each house shall institute a head.
* Persons belong to the same house are, except the head of the house, the members of the house.
* Persons who are not relatives but who live in the same household with the object of maintaining the common living permanently are deemed to be the members of the house.

### Article 1124

* The head of a house shall be elected from among the community of the relatives.　If there is no such election, the headship shall fall on the person who is the highest in rank [of relationship]; or where the ranks are equal, on the person who is senior in age.　Where the person who is the highest in rank [of relationship] or senior in age is unable or unwilling to manage the house affairs, he shall designate a member of the house to act for him.

### Article 1125

* The affairs of a house shall be managed by the head of the house, but he may entrust a part of its affairs to be looked after by the members of the house.

### Article 1126

* In the management of house affairs, the head of the house shall take care of the interests of all the members of the house.

### Article 1127

* A member of a house who has reached majority, or, though a minor, has been married, may demand to be separated from the house.

### Article 1128

* The head of a house may order a member of the house who has reached majority or though a minor, has been married to be separated from the house, provided that he has a good cause for doing so.

## CHAPTER VII, Family Council (1129-1137)
### Article 1129

* Where a meeting of the family council shall be held in accordance with the provisions of this Code, it shall be convened by the party concerned or his statutory agent or other interested persons.

### Article 1130

* A family council shall be composed of five members.

### Article 1134

* Persons who are called upon to act as members of a family council in conformity with law, shall not decline or resign the office without a good cause.

### Article 1135

* A family council shall not hold a session without at least three members being present and shall not pass a resolution without the consent of the majority of those present.

### Article 1136

* Where a member of the family council has personal interests in the matter discussed, he shall not participate in passing the resolution.

### Article 1137

* Where the person who has the right under Article 1129 to convene a meeting of the family council refuses to obey any of its resolutions, he may complain to the court within three months.

# Annotated by Wikibooks

* ↑ "Civil Code: Legislative History". Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China. Ministry of Justice (Taiwan). 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
* ↑ "Civil Code Part Ⅳ Family: Chapter Content". Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China. Ministry of Justice (Taiwan). 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2016-08-05.