In 1950, the Marriage Law was promulgated for the purpose of emancipating Chinese people from mercenary and arranged marriages, and enabling them to marry the partners of their choice. The legislation was designed to guarantee the freedom of marriage, monogamy, equality of the sexes and protection of the legal rights of women and children.
In 1980, the revised Marriage Law was adopted, with an increase from 27 to 37 articles. Its promulgation marks the thorough reform of China's marital and family system.
In 1990, the China Society on Marriage Law put forward, for the first time, the proposal of revising the Marriage Law in its book Marital and Family Issues in Current China.
In October 1995, the 16th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress made the decision to revise the Marriage Law. The revision work was officially put on the agenda of the legislative body.
Between November 1996 and June 1997, the first and second expert drafts of the new marriage law were accomplished and the law was renamed the Marriage and Family Law.
Between September and December 1997, the third and fourth drafts of the Marriage and Family Law were completed.
Starting in 2000, the NPC Law Committee has organized many research activities concerning revision of the marriage law.
