Фиктивный брак в российском семейном праве: проблемы регулирования и пути их решения

Abstract

The essential features of the concept of the sham marriage are considered (registration of marriage, the expression of the will of the couple to register marriage, and the lack of intention to create a family). The analysis of the legal grounds for the emergence of marriage bona fide spouse rights in case of the invalidity of the sham marriage and the rehabilitation of the sham marriage, which are sets of legal facts, is carried out. The authors argue for the possibility of invalidating the sham marriage after the death of the spouses. There is a critical point of view on the issue of establishing administrative or criminal liability for the sham marriage if only private rights are violated. It is advisable to protect private rights violated by the sham marriage by means of private law, which allows ensuring the personal privacy. At the same time, the commission of the sham marriage can be considered as a qualifying feature of an illegal act that violates public law (violation of the procedure for admission to citizenship, acquisition of the right to state benefits, and others), or as an aggravating circumstance when imposing the appropriate punishment. In the comparative legal aspect, the system of measures to counteract the sham marriages is considered. Given that the liberalization of views on cohabitation and the possible de lege ferenda recognition of their legal force will complicate the problem of fictitious marriages, it is proposed to put the recognition of the status of spouses for cohabitees under the condition of providing evidence of the creation of a family and establishing the relevant fact in court.