A wrongful judgment that has been passed for more than 20 years has allowed the marriage status to continue, becoming a "roadblock" for the parties to start a new life. The procuratorial organs fulfill their legal supervision responsibilities, penetrate the fog of time, correct wrongful cases over the years, and free the parties from shackles to pursue happiness again. In 1992, 21-year-old Li and his peer Yan held a wedding according to rural customs and later had a son and a daughter. However, Yan neglected his family for a long time and left home in 2001. In March 2002, Li, who was disheartened, filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting the dissolution of the marriage relationship and handling issues such as child custody. Yan did not appear in court, and the court made a judgment in July 2002, determining that the two parties were in a "cohabitation relationship" and ruling to terminate it. I thought the matter had already passed, but I didn't want another storm to arise. In March 2025, Li planned to register her marriage with someone else, but was informed by the staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau that she and Yan had registered their marriage on February 7, 1991, and the marriage was still in existence. But Li was completely unaware of the marriage registration, and at that time Yan had not reached the legal age for marriage. Upon learning of this situation, Li immediately applied for a retrial to the court, but was rejected by the ruling. In a desperate situation, she applied for supervision to the prosecutor's office in June 2025. After accepting the case, the Yangcheng County Procuratorate in Shanxi Province first retrieved the original files of Li and Yan when they registered their marriage in 1991. This file proves that both parties did indeed register their marriage on February 7, 1991, and Yan falsely reported his age at that time. Is Li and Yan in a "marital relationship" or a "cohabitation relationship"? The Yangcheng County Procuratorate believes that according to the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (Part 1), which came into effect on December 27, 2001, by the time the Marriage Registration Management Regulations came into effect on February 1, 1994, Yan had reached the legal age for marriage, and the legal invalidity of the marriage no longer existed. The marriage relationship became effective from the date of registration. In 2002, when Li sued in court, she and Yan were legally in a "marital relationship". The original judgment identified the relationship between the two as a "cohabitation relationship", which is a factual error. The handling prosecutor pointed out that even if there were doubts about the marital status at that time, the court should still conduct the trial based on the above judicial interpretation, that is, before the promulgation and implementation of the Marriage Registration Management Regulations on February 1, 1994, if both parties had already met the substantive requirements for marriage, they should be treated as a de facto marriage. After a comprehensive review, the Yangcheng County Procuratorate concluded that the original judgment contained errors and seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved. Therefore, the supervisory procedure was initiated in accordance with the law and a recommendation for retrial was issued to the court. The court adopted the suggestion and ruled for a retrial, and in September 2025, the original judgment was revoked, and Li and Yan divorced from the effective date of the judgment. After the judgment came into effect, Li successfully obtained his marriage certificate and began a new chapter in his life. (New Society)