Cooling-off period before divorce

BEIJING - Six draft sections on specific areas of civil law were submitted to China's top legislature on Monday, beginning the second phase of formulating the country's long-expected civil code.

The draft on marriage and family stipulates that a divorce application may be revoked by either side of the couple within the cooling-off period of one month after it is received by the authority.

According to Shen Chunyao, head of the Legislative Affairs Commission under the NPC Standing Committee, the provision is meant to reduce hasty decisions.

Official statistics revealed that over 4.3 million Chinese couples split up last year, registering a 5.2 percent increase from the previous year. China's divorce rate also rose from two per thousand in 2010 to 3.2 per thousand last year.

Also, considering the changes in the country's demographic situation, provisions related to family planning in current laws are not included in the draft.