betrothal
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An engagement is a promise to marry someone else .
General
The engagement time is especially a preparation time for marriage. It begins with a binding marriage promise, also known as engagement , and ends on the day of the wedding , unless a fiancé resigns from the engagement. The engagement is also broken when one of the betrothed dies.
The term fiancé is also used to denote nuptures or a bridal couple . In the process of registering marriage or applying for a marriage certificate, it designates the people who want to marry each other.
Religious and cultural tradition
The engagement (betrothal) is a non-enforceable marriage promise. During the engagement period, the relationship between the engaged couple implies stronger or weaker social and economic rights and duties between the families / kin groups involved.
An engagement is already mentioned in the Old Testament at 2. Mo 22:15. It referred to a contract in which the man undertook to pay a marriage gift and thus acquired a claim on the woman. The question of the acquisition of women is also dealt with in the first chapter of the Qiddushin . According to the biblical conception, marital intercourse is not permitted during the engagement period .
Engagement as a marriage vow is an important phase in the step-by-step approach to marriage , especially in cultures in which marriages are arranged by the parents. It is preceded by courtship , which can be highly institutionalized . This is particularly the case if it has to be brought forward by a third party ( marriage broker , Schadchen) or the suitor as a representative of the husband's family or of the husband himself. This can also take place during the childhood of the two intended spouses. During such an engagement period, not only is an (emotional) relationship established and strengthened between the two people concerned, who often did not know each other at all or only vaguely, but also a political-legal alliance between their kinship groups. The engagement then serves not only to get to know the future spouses but also to check the future alliance groups.
The engagement is often associated with a family celebration among close relatives or families. Some adult couples who want to marry limit themselves to sending a greeting card: “We are engaged.” As an external sign, it is still common to wear an engagement ring (traditionally a gift from man to woman), which is often worn on the ring finger of the left hand .
Legal nature
Germany
The legal relationships of the engagement are regulated in Germany in the first title of the family law, thus the §§ 1297-1302 of the civil code . According to this, the engagement is a contract with which two people promise to marry each other in the future, i.e. a mutual promise of marriage. German law does not recognize the one-sided marriage vows that only bind one partner.
Since the rules on engagement were applicable to the promise of a partnership, the effects of engagement described below also applied accordingly to the registered partnership ( Section 1 (4 ) LPartG ).
In contrast to the other contracts in the German Civil Code ( purchase contract , service contract , contract for work and services , rental contract , etc.), it is not possible to sue for fulfillment, that is, to bring about the mutual promise, during engagement. Section 1297 (1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) expressly clarifies that "[a] in a betrothal [...] an action can not be taken to enter into marriage."
The engagement is not a prerequisite for a marriage, it can therefore also take place without engagement. As a rule, however, an engagement takes place before marriage, even if the partners may not be aware of it. Since the engagement represents the promise of mutual marriage, as soon as one partner asks the other about this and the other agrees, an engagement can be assumed. At this point in time, the declarations of intent required to conclude a contract are available. It doesn't matter whether it takes place in silence or in front of a large audience. An implied engagement, for example through mutual purchase of wedding rings or joint preparation of invitations to the wedding, is possible.
Minors who can see the personal legal consequences of their actions are also entitled to make the promise.
Fiancés are also people who have registered with the registry office for marriage.
Effects in the relationship of the betrothed to one another
The engagement cannot be sued for entering into a marriage, Section 1297 (1) BGB. Any (foreign) law to enter into marriage or similar legal institutions binding judgment is not enforceable in Germany. The promise of a contractual penalty in the event that the engagement is not fulfilled is ineffective, Section 1297 (2) BGB.
If a fiancé withdraws from the engagement without good cause, he has to reimburse the other fiancé, his parents and third parties who acted on behalf of the parents for the damage they suffer as a result of their expenses in anticipation of the marriage made or liabilities have been entered into, Section 1298 (1) BGB. Expenses for the wedding celebration and household furnishings that have become useless come into consideration here. The other fiancé is also to be reimbursed for the damage suffered because, in anticipation of the marriage, he has taken other measures affecting his property or his employment. An example of this is the termination of the professional position with regard to the agreed division of roles in marriage.
The same obligation to pay damages applies to the fiancé, who through his fault provides an important reason for the withdrawal of the other party, § 1299 BGB.
According to Section 1302 of the German Civil Code (BGB ), the above-mentioned claims of the engaged couple to one another expire within three years from the termination of the engagement.
If the marriage does not occur - even if the marriage is mutually agreed - each party involved can demand that the other hand over all gifts that were given as a sign of the promise, § 1301 sentence 1 BGB. A reclaim (by the heirs) is excluded in case of doubt if the promise is canceled by death, § 1301 sentence 2 BGB.
Fiancée meets another criminal in relation guarantor liability . In the event of a breach of this duty, spurious omission offenses are conceivable.
The entitlement to a compensation called wreath money (Section 1300 BGB old version ) has ceased to exist due to a change in the law since July 1, 1998.
Effects on third parties
In the process according to According to Section 383, Paragraph 1, No. 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Section 52, Paragraph 1, No. 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure , the engaged couple or those who have promised to enter into a civil partnership (and not first the spouses or partners) have the right to refuse to testify .
Austria
In Austria, no legal obligations arise from “marriage engagement”; it obliges neither to marry nor to fulfill the services that were agreed in the event of resignation. In the event of withdrawal, the party who did not justify the withdrawal has a claim for damages against the other party, provided that he can prove the damage incurred. The General Civil Code does not stipulate any preconditions for engagement.
Switzerland
In Switzerland , engagement can be found legally in family law in the civil code (ZGB). It is dealt with in Articles 90 to 93. The engagement is regarded as a marriage promise in the Civil Code, but the right to enter into a marriage cannot be sued on the basis of an engagement. The engagement of underage or incapacitated persons is only binding with the consent of the legal representative. (Art. 90). When the engagement is dissolved, gifts, apart from occasional gifts that have been given to each other, can be legally reclaimed or the other party must be compensated accordingly (Art. 91). In addition, the damage caused by wedding preparations or other events in connection with the engagement can be claimed back (Art. 92). Such claims expire after one year (Art. 93).
See also
- Friedelehe (Middle Ages)
- Munt (Middle Ages)
literature
- Hans Bächtold: The customs of engagement and wedding with special consideration of Switzerland. A comparative folklore study . 1st volume. Swiss Society for Folklore, Basel / Trübner, Strasbourg 1914 ( digitized as PDF )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christian Rosenthal: Engagement time - what's the point? Follow me after 08/2016, p. 27
- ↑ Why do people wear the wedding ring on the right in Germany? July 9, 2014
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↑ FAZ: More rights for homosexual partners
Family guide of the Ministry for Generations, Family, Women and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - ^ Neumünster District Court, FamRZ 2000, 817.
- ↑ z. B. Information in the service portal of the Free State of Saxony
- ↑ a b § 45 ABGB
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ SR 210 Swiss Civil Code, Art. 90
- ↑ SR 210 Swiss Civil Code, Art. 91
- ↑ SR 210 Swiss Civil Code, Art. 92
- ↑ SR 210 Swiss Civil Code, Art. 93
