According to Clause 3, Article 2 of Joint Circular 01/2016/TTLT-TANDTC-VKSNDTC-BTP, “Deceiving a person into marriage” specified at Point b, Clause 2, Article 5 of the Law on Marriage and Family is the intentional act of one party or a third party which aims to induce the other party to be mislead, and results in consent to get married; without this act, the deceived party would not have agreed to the marriage.”

Deceiving a person into marriage violates the voluntary marriage regulations and is contrary to the basic principles of the Law on Marriage and Family that provides for “Voluntary, progressive, and monogamous marriage in which the husband and wife are equal”. This act is prohibited under the Law on Marriage and Family.

This issue is also regulated by Article 127 of the 2015 Civil Code. “Deception in a civil transaction means an intentional act of a party or a third person which aims to induce the other party to misunderstand the subject, the nature of the object or the content of a civil transaction, and thus to agree to enter into such transaction”. The definition applies to all civil transactions and there is no separate provision for deception in marriage.