〈Case concerning whether confirmation of the nullity of a marital relationship may be sought after the marital relationship has been dissolved by divorce〉[Gong 2024Ha, 921]

【Holding】

Whether, even after a marital relationship has been dissolved by divorce, there is a legal interest in seeking confirmation of the nullity of the marital relationship that existed for a certain period in the past (affirmative in principle)

【Summary of Decision】

If a marital relationship has already been dissolved by divorce, the former marital relationship becomes a past legal relationship. However, since a marital relationship, being a status relationship, forms the premise of numerous legal relationships, seeking confirmation of the nullity of the marital relationship itself, a past legal relationship, may be an effective and appropriate means of resolving the related disputes all at once, rather than repeating procedures to seek confirmation of the validity of each of those legal relationships individually; therefore, absent special circumstances, a legal interest in seeking confirmation of the nullity of a marriage must be recognized even after the marital relationship has already been dissolved. The detailed reasons are as follows.

(1) A void marriage and a divorce differ in their legal effects. A void marriage produces no marital effect from the outset. Therefore, the provision prohibiting marriage with a person who is or was a relative by marriage (Article 809(2) of the Civil Act) and the provisions on the special rule for relatives, which exempt from punishment property crimes committed between relatives (Article 328(1) of the Criminal Act, etc.), do not apply. By contrast, even where a marital relationship has been dissolved by divorce, its effect arises only prospectively, so that legal relationships that arose on the premise of the marriage before the divorce remain valid. Accordingly, there is a practical benefit in confirming that the marital relationship is void even after a divorce.

(2) The Family Litigation Act contains provisions on the method of bringing an action for confirmation of the nullity of a marital relationship where the marital relationship has been dissolved by the death of one of the spouses. In light of these provisions of the Family Litigation Act, an action for confirmation of the nullity of a marriage brought after a divorce should not be regarded as lacking a legal interest in confirmation on the ground that it concerns a past legal relationship.

(3) The Supreme Court has recognized a legal interest in confirmation in an action for confirmation of the nullity of an adoption brought after the adoptive parent-child relationship had been dissolved by dissolution of adoption by agreement. The foregoing determination of the Supreme Court can equally be applied in determining whether there is a legal interest in confirmation in an action for confirmation of the nullity of a marriage brought after the marital relationship has been dissolved by divorce.

(4) In order to secure objective documentary evidence for a request to correct a family relations register in which a history of a void marriage has been erroneously recorded, it is necessary to bring an action for confirmation of the nullity of the marital relationship.

(5) If, regarding the erroneous entry in the family relations register as a mere dishonor or as no more than an indirect or de facto disadvantage, a legal interest in confirmation were denied in an action seeking confirmation of the nullity of the recorded matter in order to secure the materials necessary for correcting that entry, this could lead to a result in which citizens are unable to obtain complete relief for their rights, by foreclosing in advance any means of obtaining a judicial determination on whether grounds for nullity of marriage exist.

【Referenced Statutes】

Article 250 of the Civil Procedure Act; Articles 809(2), 812, and 815 of the Civil Act; Article 328(1) of the Criminal Act; Article 24 of the Family Litigation Act; Article 107 of the Act on Registration of Family Relations

【Referenced Precedents】

Supreme Court Decision 82Meu67, February 28, 1984 (Gong 1984, 597) (overruled)
Supreme Court Decision 94Meu1447, March 28, 1995 (Gong 1995Sang, 1751)
Supreme Court Decision 94Meu1553, 1560, September 29, 1995 (Gong 1995Ha, 3625)
Supreme Court Decision 95Meu694, November 14, 1995 (Gong 1996Sang, 54)

(Source: Supreme Court Decision 2020Meu15896, May 23, 2024 (en banc) [Nullity of Marriage] > Comprehensive Legal Information System, Precedents)