1. Civil consequences of bigamy. Bigamy will have the following three civil consequences:
(1) Bigamy does not have the legal effect of marriage. Bigamy is one of the reasons why marriage is invalid according to the Marriage Law.
(2) Bigamy is one of the cases where the relationship between husband and wife has indeed broken down and the court has granted divorce;
(3) At the time of divorce, bigamy is one of the reasons why the innocent party claims damages.
2. Criminal responsibility of bigamy. Article 258 of the Criminal Law stipulates: "Whoever commits bigamy while having a spouse, or marries someone knowing that they have a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention." In other words, if a spouse commits bigamy or knowingly commits bigamy, he shall bear the criminal responsibility of bigamy.
Article 259 of the Criminal Law stipulates: "Whoever knowingly cohabites or marries a soldier shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention."
It can be seen from the above that bigamy is an invalid marriage, and the parties may apply to the people's court to declare the marriage invalid. If the legal invalid marriage situation has disappeared at the time of application, the people's court will not support it. When punishing bigamy, it should be noted that marrying the other party without knowing that the other party has a spouse does not constitute bigamy, but only bears civil liability for bigamy. For more relevant knowledge, please consult Luzhou lawyers.