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30 Feminist L. Stud. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/femlst30 and id is 1 raw text is: Feminist Legal Studies (2022) 30:1-27
https://doi.org/10.1007/si0691-021-09472-4
Marriage Transmitted Debt in the Chinese Civil Code: The
Beginning of a Solution Rather than the End
Jie Huang' . May Fong Cheong2
Accepted: 21 July 2021 / Published online: 24 September 2021
©The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021
Abstract
This paper is the first to critically analyse how the newly enacted Chinese Civil
Code addresses gender equality in the intersection of family and commercial con-
tracting. It proposes 'marriage transmitted debt' (MTD) in China as a new concept
as opposed to 'sexually transmitted debt' (STD) documented in English and Austral-
ian jurisprudence. MTD refers to the debt incurred by one spouse but transmitted to
the other spouse due to the status of the marriage. Supported by empirical statistics,
it shows that while the statutory language of MTD regulation in China is neutral,
wives are still disadvantaged. Although this has been partly addressed by shifting
the onus of proof to creditors, the meaning of debt incurred for the daily life of a
family or the joint life of the couple in the Code needs further judicial development.
The Code is the beginning of a solution rather than the end to achieving gender
equality in China.
Keywords Chinese Civil Code - Commercial contracting - Family - Gender-
Marriage transmitted debt - Sexually transmitted debt
Introduction
With marriage, couples in China enter a legal relationship conferring joint mari-
tal property, and for many, the misfortune of inheriting marriage transmitted debt
(MTD). MTD refers to debt incurred by one spouse but transmitted to the other
spouse due to the status of marriage without the other spouse's consent. A creditor
can sue the non-borrowing spouse solely, or both the non-borrowing and borrowing
E Jie Huang
jeanne.huang@ sydney.edu.au
May Fong Cheong
May.Cheong@acu.edu.au
University of Sydney Law School, Camperdown, Australia
2  Thomas More Law School, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, Australia

I_) Springer

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