Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom are a form of civil union granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, allowing couples irrespective of sex to obtain essentially the same rights and responsibilities as civil marriage.[1] Civil partners are entitled to the same property rights as married couples, the same exemption as married couples on inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to obtain 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.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales in March 2014, although civil partnerships remained available. The Act also granted those in a civil partnership the ability to convert their partnership into a marriage. The equivalent Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 does not grant that ability to couples in Scotland, but includes provisions for its later introduction, and does permit those already in civil partnership with one another to marry without first dissolving the mutual civil partnership.
In February 2018, the United Kingdom and Scottish governments began reviewing civil partnerships.[3] In June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that allowing only same-sex couples to enter a civil partnership is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.[4] The UK Government later pledged to allow opposite-sex couples in England and Wales to enter into civil partnerships,[5] and legislation enabling this passed the Parliament in March 2019.[6][7] Opposite-sex couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships in England and Wales since 2 December 2019.[8] They will become available to opposite-sex couples in Northern Ireland from 13 January 2020, whilst in Scotland legislation is currently pending in the Scottish Parliament.
Law and procedure
A civil partnership is a relationship between two people, 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.
Formation and registration
A civil partnership is formed once both individuals have signed the civil partnership document in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses.[11]
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 British 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 partnership. 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.
Eligibility
Each party to the civil partnership must 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 [12] following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights against similar provisions for marriage).[13] 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.[14] 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.
Recent developments
It is prohibited for civil partnerships to include religious readings, music or symbols.[15] It was originally prohibited for the ceremonies to take place in religious venues. On 17 February 2011, Her Majesty's Government announced that, as the result of the passing of the Equality Act 2010, it would bring forward the necessary measures to remove the latter restriction in England and Wales, although religious venues would not be compelled to offer civil partnerships. This was implemented by The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. On 26 September 2011, the Home Office published the following statement on its website:
A public consultation to consider how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples will begin in March 2012, the government announced today.
As part of its commitment to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals the government announced in February this year its intention to look at how legislation could develop on equal civil marriage. Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone said:
"I am delighted to confirm that early next year, this government will begin a formal consultation on equal civil marriage for same-sex couples. This would allow us to make any legislative changes before the end of this Parliament. We will be working closely with all those who have an interest in the area to understand their views ahead of the formal consultation."
The consultation will only cover civil marriage for same sex couples — not religious marriage.[16]
It falls within the respective jurisdictions of the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly 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.[17] 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."[18]
Unlike the English and Welsh Consultation due to begin in March 2012, the Consultation for Scotland dealt with the issue of same sex marriage in a religious context. On 10 December 2011, 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.[19] Despite the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014, the Government of Scotland has yet to decide whether or not to open civil partnerships to opposite sex couples. Other aspects of Scotland's Marriage and Civil Partnership Act which legalised same-sex marriage in Scotland and relate to civil partnership include:[20]
Possible tests for religious and belief bodies to meet when solemnising marriages or registering civil partnerships, in light of increasing concerns over sham and forced marriages
Introducing religious and belief ceremonies to register civil partnerships
In February 2017 the UK court of appeal ruled against a heterosexual who wanted a civil partnership.[21] In June 2018, the ban on heterosexual couples obtaining a civil partnership was ruled discriminatory
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales in March 2014, although civil partnerships remained available. The Act also granted those in a civil partnership the ability to convert their partnership into a marriage. The equivalent Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 does not grant that ability to couples in Scotland, but includes provisions for its later introduction, and does permit those already in civil partnership with one another to marry without first dissolving the mutual civil partnership.
In February 2018, the United Kingdom and Scottish governments began reviewing civil partnerships.[3] In June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that allowing only same-sex couples to enter a civil partnership is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.[4] The UK Government later pledged to allow opposite-sex couples in England and Wales to enter into civil partnerships,[5] and legislation enabling this passed the Parliament in March 2019.[6][7] Opposite-sex couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships in England and Wales since 2 December 2019.[8] They will become available to opposite-sex couples in Northern Ireland from 13 January 2020, whilst in Scotland legislation is currently pending in the Scottish Parliament.
Law and procedure
A civil partnership is a relationship between two people, 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.
Formation and registration
A civil partnership is formed once both individuals have signed the civil partnership document in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses.[11]
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 British 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 partnership. 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.
Eligibility
Each party to the civil partnership must 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 [12] following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights against similar provisions for marriage).[13] 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.[14] 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.
Recent developments
It is prohibited for civil partnerships to include religious readings, music or symbols.[15] It was originally prohibited for the ceremonies to take place in religious venues. On 17 February 2011, Her Majesty's Government announced that, as the result of the passing of the Equality Act 2010, it would bring forward the necessary measures to remove the latter restriction in England and Wales, although religious venues would not be compelled to offer civil partnerships. This was implemented by The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. On 26 September 2011, the Home Office published the following statement on its website:
A public consultation to consider how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples will begin in March 2012, the government announced today.
As part of its commitment to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals the government announced in February this year its intention to look at how legislation could develop on equal civil marriage. Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone said:
"I am delighted to confirm that early next year, this government will begin a formal consultation on equal civil marriage for same-sex couples. This would allow us to make any legislative changes before the end of this Parliament. We will be working closely with all those who have an interest in the area to understand their views ahead of the formal consultation."
The consultation will only cover civil marriage for same sex couples — not religious marriage.[16]
It falls within the respective jurisdictions of the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly 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.[17] 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."[18]
Unlike the English and Welsh Consultation due to begin in March 2012, the Consultation for Scotland dealt with the issue of same sex marriage in a religious context. On 10 December 2011, 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.[19] Despite the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014, the Government of Scotland has yet to decide whether or not to open civil partnerships to opposite sex couples. Other aspects of Scotland's Marriage and Civil Partnership Act which legalised same-sex marriage in Scotland and relate to civil partnership include:[20]
Possible tests for religious and belief bodies to meet when solemnising marriages or registering civil partnerships, in light of increasing concerns over sham and forced marriages
Introducing religious and belief ceremonies to register civil partnerships
In February 2017 the UK court of appeal ruled against a heterosexual who wanted a civil partnership.[21] In June 2018, the ban on heterosexual couples obtaining a civil partnership was ruled discriminatory
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق