Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage.[1] 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,[2] 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. There is a formal process for dissolving partnerships akin to divorce.
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A civil partnership is a relationship between two people of the same sex, formed when they register as civil partners of each other, which ends only on death, dissolution or annulment. Part 2 of the Act relates to England and Wales, Part 3 to Scotland and Part 4 to Northern Ireland.
A civil partnership is formed once both individuals have signed the civil partnership document in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses.[3]
Under the standard procedure, before registration, each party will usually have to give notice to the appropriate authority. Each party must have resided in the UK jurisdiction in which they intend to register, (England and Wales or Northern Ireland) for at least seven days immediately preceding the giving of notice and there will, in most cases, be a fifteen-day waiting period after notice is given. A civil partnership in Wales (Welsh: Partneriaeth Sifil) may be conducted either in English or, provided that both registering parties, the registrar and witnesses are able to understand and write in the Welsh language, in Welsh. Civil Partnership documents issued in Wales (regardless of the registering language) follow a standardised bilingual English and Welsh format.
In Scotland there is no minimum residence requirement to contract a valid marriage. During the waiting period, the proposed partnership is publicised and anyone may make a formal objection. If there is such an objection, the proposed civil partnership cannot be formed unless the objection is withdrawn or if the registration authority is satisfied that the objection ought not to prevent the formation of the civil partnership. Provided no objection has been recorded, or any recorded objections have been cleared, the registration authority must issue a civil partnership schedule at the request of either party upon the expiration of the waiting period. The civil partnership must then be registered within twelve months of the notice first being given.
Specific registration procedures apply to certain special circumstances, e.g. concerning the housebound, detained persons and those seriously ill and in danger of death.
Each party to the civil partnership must be of the same sex and be at least 16 years of age. Anyone below 18 years of age will usually need parental consent, except in Scotland where such consent is not required. Furthermore, the parties to the proposed partnership must not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship specified in part 1 of schedule 1, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act (paragraph 3 was not brought into force [4] following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights against similar provisions for marriage).[5] Any party who is already in a marriage or a civil partnership is ineligible to register.
Where permitted, civil partnerships may be registered at British embassies or consulates-general. As of October 2009, the British Embassy in France listed twenty eight as being authorised to hold civil partnerships.[6] For such registrations, at least one partner must be a British citizen. Overseas couples wishing to register their partnership in the UK, must reside in the country for seven days prior to application for the partnership, and wait a further fifteen days before the civil partnership may be formed.
It is prohibited for civil partnerships to include religious readings, music or symbols and for the ceremonies to take place in religious venues. On 17 February 2011, the UK Government announced that, as the result of the passing of the Equalities Act 2010, it would bring forward the necessary measures to remove these restrictions in England and Wales, although religious venues would not be compelled to offer civil partnerships. The formal consultation on this process, in which both individuals and groups were able to express a viewpoint, ran from 31st March - 23rd June, 2011.[7]As a result of the consultation, the Equalities Department of the UK Home Office announced
In addition, having listened to stakeholders, it is clear from many that there is a desire to move towards equal civil marriage and partnerships. We will work with all those who have an interest in this area on how legislation can develop.[8]
On 17 September the BBC reported that the UK Equalities Minister stated that a consultation on the matter would begin in March 2012 with the view to legalising same-sex marriage in England and Wales before the next general election in 2015.[9] It falls within the jurisdictions of the devolved administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland to decide whether or not to remove the restrictions in the areas of civil partnerships and marriage. From September-December 2011, the Scottish Government held a consultation on not only removing religious prohibitions for civil partnerships but also legalising same-sex marriage within that country.[10]In the foreword to the consultation document, Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon stated
"The Scottish Government is choosing to make its initial views clear at the outset of this consultation. We tend towards the view that religious ceremonies for civil partnerships should no longer be prohibited and that same sex marriage should be introduced so that same sex couples have the option of getting married if that is how they wish to demonstrate their commitment to each other. We also believe that no religious body or its celebrants should be required to carry out same sex marriages or civil partnership ceremonies."[11]
On 10 December, the Scotsman newspaper reported that some 50,000 responses had been received and that a government spokesperson stated that an analysis would be published in the spring of 2012.[12]
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. Before doing so, any existing marriage must be dissolved in order to avoid potential problems for a married couple who wish to stay together after one party has changed gender. Under special provisions of the Civil Partnership Act, in such situations a couple may dissolve their marriage and enter into a civil partnership the same day.
Where a same-sex couple has registered an overseas relationship which is specified in Schedule 20 of the Civil Partnership Act, or meet certain general conditions, they are treated as having formed a civil partnership. The requirements can be found in section 212 and sections 215 to 218 of the Act.
For an overseas relationship to meet the general conditions it must, under the law of the country or territory in which it was formed:
The position of civil partners in relation to financial arrangements mirrors that of spouses. For instance, Section 11 of the Married Women's Property Act 1882 applies to civil partnerships; thus, money payable to a surviving partner under a policy of life assurance no longer forms part of the deceased partner's estate.
The laws governing wills, administration of estates and family provisions also applies to civil partners as to spouses; thus, provisions governing financial relief under Part 2 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA) and the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Court Act 1978 also apply to civil partnerships. Tax exemptions available to spouses under s.18 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 are available to civil partners under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. In Scotland the centuries-old system of minimum legal rights to a deceased estate for a widowed spouse were expressly extended to civil partners by section 131 of Act.
In any dispute between civil partners as to title or possession of property, either partner may apply to the Court, which can then make any order in relation to the property, including an order to sell such property. Contributions by either partner to property improvement are recognised if the contributions are substantial and in actual money or money's worth.
When dealing with an application for dissolution, nullity or separation where there is a child in the family, the Court must consider if it should exercise its powers under the Children Act 1989. Section 72 amends the definition of 'a child of the family' accordingly.
Other amendments were also made to equalise the position of civil partners with that of spouses. Civil partners are able to acquire parental responsibilities as a stepparent under Section 72 of the Act. They may also apply for residence or contact orders. Further, the right to apply for financial provision for children under schedule 1 of the 1989 act was extended to civil partners. Adoption provisions were amended to treat civil partners the same as married couples in Britain, although this does not apply to Northern Ireland at 18 November 2011. The Northern Ireland Adoption law is due to go to judicial review in December 2011. [13]
The Act also amended other areas to equalise the position of civil partners. Such areas included matters relating to housing, tenancies and the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. Applicable parts of the Family Law Act 1996 were also amended.
There is no requirement that either party must change their surname upon entering a civil partnership. However, many couples wish to follow marital traditions and seek to change their surname to that of either partner, or combine their names to make a double-barrelled surname. This change can be made after the civil partnership is registered, and authorities will accept a certificate of civil partnership as evidence of name change, e.g. when applying for a passport or a driving licence. In Scotland, names need not be changed to be considered valid (deeds poll do not exist under Scots law), though some English-based companies may still ask for proof from an official such as a Justice of the Peace. Civil partners of male peers or knights do not receive a courtesy title to which the spouse of a peer or knight would be entitled.
Section 37(1) of the Act provides for the making of dissolution, nullity, separation and presumption of death orders. These provisions broadly mirror those governing marriage.
No applications for dissolution may be made within one year of the formation of the civil partnership, except in Scotland. Like marriage, irretrievable breakdown is the only ground on which the court may make a dissolution order. Also, Section 44 provides that the Court may not make such an order unless the applicant satisfies as to certain facts which are the same as those for divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA), except that adultery cannot be relied on for a civil partnership dissolution: the respondent's behaviour, 2 years' separation and consent, 2 years' desertion or 5 years' separation. If the applicant satisfies the court in this respect, the court must make a dissolution order unless it is not convinced by the evidence that the partnership has indeed broken down irretrievably. The MCA section 5 defence is also available. While adultery cannot be cited as a reason in itself for dissolving a civil partnership, it could be cited as an example of unreasonable behaviour.
As with the breakdown of a marriage, the court will have powers to provide financial relief upon dissolution of a Civil Partnership. The court may make Maintenance and lump sum orders, Orders for Sale, Pension Sharing Orders or Property Adjustment Orders. [14]
A nullity order is one which annuls a void or voidable civil partnership. Section 49 of the Act provides that a civil partnership is void on grounds of ineligibility to register, if the parties: disregarded certain requirements as to the formation of the partnership, where any party is a minor, where any person whose consent is required (e.g. a parent) has forbidden the formation of the partnership and the court has not given its consent. Where a civil partnership is voidable, applications for nullity orders are subject to the bars of time, knowledge of defect and approbation.
A presumption of death order dissolves the partnership on the grounds that one of the partners is presumed to be dead, while a separation order provides for the separation of the parties. These orders are governed by Sections 55 and 56 of the Act and they largely mirror the position for married couples.
The first civil partnership formed under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 took place at 11:00 GMT 5 December 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing, West Sussex. The statutory 15-day waiting period was waived as Roche was suffering from a terminal illness: he died the following day.[15] The first partnership registered after the normal waiting period was held in Belfast on 19 December 2005.[16]
The first partnerships formed in Great Britain, after the waiting period, should have occurred on 21 December, but due to a misinterpretation of the rules, the first in Scotland were held on 20 December. The first civil partnerships in England and Wales were formed on 21 December 2005, with Westminster, Hampshire, Hammersmith and Fulham and Brighton & Hove conducting the largest numbers.[17]
18,059 couples entered into a civil partnership between December 2005 and the end of December 2006, with a further 8,728 taking place in 2007,[18] 7,169 in 2008, [19] 6,281 in 2009[20] and 6,385 in 2010.[21]
By 2009, 487 couples in 20 different countries were registered at British Consulates. Six of these countries have since legislated for gay marriage, civil partnerships or something similar. British Embassies in a further nine countries are licenced to conduct British Civil Partnership but had yet to perform their first.
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