The man's request to cancel the marriage was rejected by the court, while the woman was accused of concealing a "serious illness" due to pre marital cancer
Can the other party sue to revoke their marriage if one party did not inform them of their cancer condition before marriage?
According to the news on September 4 from the WeChat official account "Beijing Haidian Court", Mr. Wang and Ms. Wang found Ms. Wang had nodules during their premarital physical examination. A few days later, Ms. Wang went to a Grade III A hospital for reexamination, and the examination report showed that it was in line with the diagnosis of cancer and considered cancer metastasis. Mr. Wang and Ms. Wang registered their marriage. One month after marriage, Ms. Wang underwent hospitalization surgery for treatment, and her postoperative recovery was good. She needs regular medication and follow-up examinations, and can work and live normally. Mr. Wang requested the revocation of his marriage on the grounds that Ms. Wang concealed a serious illness before marriage. After trial, the Haidian Court ruled to dismiss Mr. Wang's application.
The plaintiff Mr. Wang claimed that during the premarital examination with Ms. Wang, nodules were found. Ms. Wang went for a follow-up examination herself, but did not disclose the true situation. Later, he registered his marriage with Ms. Wang and only learned about her true condition after Ms. Wang was hospitalized for surgery. Ms. Wang deliberately concealed the fact that she had a major disease with cancer metastasis before marriage and only informed her after undergoing surgery after marriage, which goes against the true intention of marriage. Therefore, she requests that the marriage be dissolved in accordance with the law.
The defendant Ms. Wang argued that she had told Mr. Wang about her illness before marriage, but did not explicitly inform him that it was cancer. He has already communicated with Mr. Wang and said it's not very good. Mr. Wang expressed his desire to continue, so he registered for marriage. He was very grateful for Mr. Wang's support at that time.
The court, after trial, believes that if one party suffers from a serious illness, they should truthfully inform the other party before marriage registration; If the information is not truthfully disclosed, the other party may apply to the people's court to revoke the marriage. Major diseases usually refer to diseases that require significant medical expenses and seriously affect the normal work and life of patients over a long period of time. According to Article 8 of the Maternal and Child Health Care Law of the People's Republic of China, premarital medical examination includes examination for the following diseases: severe hereditary diseases; Designated infectious diseases; Regarding mental illness. Severe hereditary diseases refer to hereditary diseases that are formed due to genetic factors, causing patients to lose all or part of their ability to live independently, with a high risk of reproduction in offspring, and are medically considered unsuitable for reproduction. Designated infectious diseases refer to AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, leprosy and other infectious diseases that are medically considered to affect marriage and childbearing as stipulated in the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Regarding mental illness, it refers to schizophrenia, manic depressive psychosis, and other severe mental illnesses. According to the above regulations, citizens who have already suffered from the above-mentioned diseases before marriage are temporarily not suitable for marriage. Whether the illness that one party to the marriage had already contracted before registering for marriage constitutes a "serious illness" category as stipulated in the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China should be judged based on whether the illness will cause harm to the family life of the non diseased party to the marriage, affecting the other party's free will to decide on marriage, or whether it will have a significant impact on the post marital life of both parties.
Based on the evidence submitted by the parties involved in this case and the facts found during the trial, although Ms. Wang suffered from cancer, her postoperative recovery was good and she was able to work and live normally. Her condition was not sufficient to cause serious damage to the parties' free will in marriage and have a significant adverse impact on their marital life, and did not constitute a "major disease" as stipulated in the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China. In addition, Ms. Wang confirmed that although she did not explicitly inform Mr. Wang that her illness was cancer before registering for marriage, she had clearly informed him that Mr. Wang's condition was very poor. Therefore, Mr. Wang claimed that Ms. Wang had concealed a major illness before marriage, lacking factual and legal basis, and the court did not accept it.
Finally, the court ruled to dismiss Mr. Wang's lawsuit. After the verdict was pronounced, neither party appealed, and the verdict has now come into effect.
The judge's statement
Article 1053 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that if one party suffers from a serious illness, they shall truthfully inform the other party before marriage registration; If it is not truthful to inform, the other party may apply to the people's court to revoke the marriage. If a request is made to revoke a marriage, it shall be made within one year from the date of knowing or should have known the reason for revocation. In this case, is the cancer that Ms. Wang concealed before marriage a "serious illness", and can Mr. Wang advocate for the revocation of the marriage?
Major diseases usually refer to diseases that require significant medical expenses and seriously affect the normal work and life of patients over a long period of time. The scope of "major diseases" is not clearly defined in the Civil Code. According to Article 8 of the Maternal and Child Health Care Law of the People's Republic of China, premarital medical examination includes examination for the following diseases: severe hereditary diseases; Designated infectious diseases; Regarding mental illness. According to the above regulations, citizens who have already suffered from the above-mentioned diseases before marriage are temporarily not suitable for marriage. In judicial practice, whether the illness that one party to a marriage had already contracted before registering for marriage constitutes a "serious illness" category as stipulated in the Civil Code, the people's court should strictly grasp whether the request for revocation of marriage submitted by the concealed party should be supported based on the standard of whether the "serious illness" can affect the other party's free will to decide on marriage or whether it has a significant impact on the married life of both parties.
In this case, although Ms. Wang's illness is cancer, it does not belong to the three categories of diseases that are not suitable for marriage as stipulated in the Maternal and Child Health Care Law. Moreover, Ms. Wang has recovered well after surgery, can work and live normally, and does not affect fertility. Her condition is not enough to seriously damage the free will of the parties involved in marriage and have significant adverse effects on marriage life, and does not constitute a "major disease" as stipulated in the Civil Code.
It is worth mentioning that in marital relationships, the core values are love, responsibility, and dedication. Through emotional dependence and mutual care between spouses, the stable order of marriage is maintained, and family happiness and peace are achieved. Marital relationships are different from general social relationships, as they not only affect both spouses, but also their children and parents, and can even affect the harmony and stability of the entire society. Therefore, if one party does suffer from a serious illness before marriage, they should truthfully inform the other party and allow the other party to make a true statement of whether to marry or not with full knowledge. Otherwise, they may face the revocation of their marriage and may not be able to achieve true happiness.
