Civil Partnership Act 2004

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See Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom for a detailed discussion of the Act and its implementation.

Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage. Civil Partners are entitled to the same property rights as married opposite-sex couples, the same exemption as married couples on inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to get parental responsibility for a partner's children,^[1] as well as responsibility for reasonable maintenance of one's partner and their children, tenancy rights, full life insurance recognition, next-of-kin rights in hospitals, and others.^[2] There is a formal process for dissolving partnerships akin to divorce.

1 Schedule 20
- 1.1 Unions adopted since Schedule 20 last amended
2 Legislative passage
3 References
4 External links
- 4.1 Drafts of the Act

[edit] Schedule 20

Schedule 20 recognises certain overseas unions as equivalent to civil partnerships under the laws of the United Kingdom. Same-sex couples who have entered into those unions are automatically recognised in the United Kingdom as civil partners.

Schedule 20 is subject to adjustment, and additional overseas relationships may be added as more jurisdictions across the world bring in civil partnership or same-sex marriage legislation. On December 5, 2005, the original schedule of the 2004 act was amended to include several other countries and states.^[3] Schedule 20 does not, therefore, include relationships created since that time. Overseas relationships recognized under Schedule 20, as amended, are as follows:

Andorra: unió estable de parella (stable partnership union)
Australia: Tasmania – significant relationship‡
Belgium: marriage and cohabitation légale/wettelijke samenwoning/gesetzliches Zusammenwohnen (statutory cohabitation)
Canada: marriage, as well as Nova Scotia domestic partnership and Quebec union civile/civil union
Denmark: registreret partnerskab (registered partnership)
Finland: rekisteröity parisuhde/registrerad partnerskap (registered partnership)
France: Pacte civil de solidarité (civil solidarity pact)
Germany: Lebenspartnerschaft (life partnership)
Iceland: staðfesta samvist (confirmed cohabitation)
Luxembourg: partenariat enregistré/eingetragene Partnerschaft (registered partnership)
Netherlands: marriage and geregistreerd partnerschap (registered partnership)
New Zealand: civil union
Norway: registrert partnerskap (registered partnership)
Spain: marriage
Sweden: registrerat partnerskap (registered partnership)
Uruguay: Civil unions in Uruguay
United States:

‡ Civil unions in New Jersey and various unions in various Australian states were created after Schedule 20 was last updated and are dealt with below.

[edit] Unions adopted since Schedule 20 last amended

The following unions were created after Schedule 20 was last updated, and therefore couple must prove such union meet the general conditions under Section 214 of the Act to register them as civil parternships:

Australia provides unregistered co-habitation in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia; or registered partnerships in the Council areas of Sydney and Melbourne and in the state of Victoria. (The Commonwealth of Australia provides only independancy relationships in 3 areas only; Military or ADF, supperannuation and migration of same-sex partner).
Czech Republic: registered partnership
Mexico:
- Coahila – pacto civil de solidaridad (civil union)
- Mexico City – sociedad de convivencia (civil union)
Slovenia: registered partnership
Switzerland: registered partnership
South Africa: marriage
United States

[edit] Legislative passage

The Act was announced in the Queen's Speech at the start of the 2003/2004 legislative session, and its full text was revealed on March 31, 2004. It received Royal Assent on November 18, 2004, and came into force on 5 December 2005, allowing the first couples to form civil partnerships 15 days later. Confusion regarding the interpretation of the Act led to registrations being accepted from December 19 in Northern Ireland, December 20 in Scotland and December 21 in England and Wales. Scotland's Parliament voted in favour of a Legislative Consent Motion allowing Westminster to legislate for Scotland in this Act.

As a Bill, it met with broad support from all of the UK's major political parties. However, it also faced criticism on several fronts—from people who alleged that marriage would be 'diluted' by extending the rights of it to others; from people who felt the government should simply extend marriage itself; and from opposite-sex couples who wished themselves to have the right to enter into a civil partnership.

In the debate on the Bill in the House of Lords on June 24, 2004, an amendment to extend eligibility for civil partnership to blood relatives who had lived together for a minimum period of time, was moved by Conservative peer Baroness O'Cathain and approved. The House of Commons later removed this amendment and sent the revised Bill back to the Lords for reconsideration. The Lords decided to accept the Commons version on November 17, and the Bill received Royal Assent the next day.