What is Civil Partnership – Part 1

The first Civil Partnerships took place just before Christmas 2005, with the government announcing an official implementation date of December 5th 2005.

Announced on 21st Feb 2005 to the delight of same-sex couples looking to make use of the new legislation, the Civil Partnership Act came into force on the 5th December, allowing for ceremonies to take place on 21st December.

But what difference will these new laws make to you? Is it the same as gay marriage? Will these new rights enable gay couples to adopt children? What's the fuss all about?

General Information About Civil Partnership

Civil Partnership is a new legal relationship, which can be formed by two people of the same sex. It gives same sex couples the ability to obtain legal recognition for their relationship. Couples who form a civil partnership will have a new legal status – that of “civil partner”.

Same-sex couples who form a civil partnership will have parity of treatment in a wide range of legal matters with those opposite-sex couples who enter into a civil marriage.

The rights and responsibilities civil partners will have include:

• A duty to provide reasonable maintenance for your civil partner and any children of the family;

• Ability to apply for parental responsibility for your civil partner’s child;

• Equitable treatment for the purposes of assessment for child support; life assurance; tax, including inheritance tax; employment and pension benefits; inheritance of a tenancy agreement;

• Recognition under intestacy rules;

• Access to fatal accidents compensation;

• Protection from domestic violence; and

• Recognition for immigration and nationality purposes.

How does civil partnership differ from marriage?
Civil Partnership is a completely new legal relationship, exclusively for same-sex couples, distinct from marriage.

The Government has sought to give civil partners parity of treatment with spouses, as far as is possible, in the rights and responsibilities that flow from forming a civil partnership.

There are a small number of differences between civil partnership and marriage, for example, a civil partnership is formed when the second civil partner signs the relevant document, a civil marriage is formed when the couple exchange spoken words. Opposite-sex couples can opt for a religious or civil marriage ceremony as they choose, whereas formation of a civil partnership will be an exclusively civil procedure.
Who is eligible?

The couple must both be of the same sex, not already be in a civil partnership or marriage, be 16 years of age or older, and not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship (i.e related).

In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, individuals who are aged 16 and 17 will have to obtain the written consent of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before registering a civil partnership. In Scotland individuals aged 16 or over will be able to register their partnership without the need for parental consent. This is also the rule, in Scotland, for opposite-sex couples who marry).

The prohibited degrees of relationship can be found in Schedule 1 to the Civil Partnership Act for England and Wales, Schedule 10 for Scotland and Schedule 12 for Northern Ireland. These Schedules list the people who, due to the closeness of their relationship with each other, are prohibited from registering a civil partnership with each other or, in certain cases, who are prohibited from registering a civil partnership with each other unless certain conditions are met.

How many people do you expect to form civil partnerships?

The Government expects between 11,000 and 22,000 people to be in a civil partnership by 2010. The full take-up assumptions are available in the final Regulatory Impact Assessment published by the DTI at http://www.dti.gov.uk/access/ria/index.htm#equality

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