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Wiki Same Sex
Wiki Same Sex
Kingdom
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil
Partnership Act 2004, allow same-sex couples to obtain essentially the
same rights and responsibilities as 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, tenancyrights, full life insurance recognition, next of kin rights
in hospitals, and others. There is a formal process for dissolving
partnerships akin to divorce.
This article is about the UK relationship status. For Irish status of the same name, see Civil
Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 legalised full same-sex
marriage in England and Wales starting from March 2014, although civil
partnership also remains available. Later in 2014 it granted those in a
civil partnership in England or Wales the ability to convert their
partnership into a marriage. The equivalent Marriage and Civil
Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 does not grant that ability, but includes
provision for its later introduction, and does permit those already in civil
partnership with one another to marry without first dissolving the mutual
civil partnership.
Eligibility
Edit
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 [5] following a ruling from the European Court of Human
Rights against similar provisions for marriage).[6] Any party who is
already in a marriage or a civil partnership is ineligible to register.
Recent developments
Edit
It is prohibited for civil partnerships to include religious readings, music
or symbols.[8] 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:
The consultation will only cover civil marriage for same sex
couples — not religious marriage.[9]
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.[10] In the foreword to the consultation document, Deputy First
Minister, Nicola Sturgeon stated
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.[12] 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:[13]
Overseas relationships
Edit
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.
Children
Edit
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 75 amends the
definition of 'a child of the family' accordingly.
Other provisions
Edit
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.
Name changing
Edit
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.[15]
Dissolution
Edit
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.
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, The Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham and Brighton & Hove conducting
the largest numbers.[20]
Church of England
Edit
As the state church, the Church of England has discussed and
established guidelines for clergy entering into civil partnerships. Within
the guidelines, "The House of Bishops does not regard entering into a
civil partnership as intrinsically incompatible with holy orders, provided
the person concerned is willing to give assurances to his or her bishop
that the relationship is consistent with the standards for the clergy...The
House of Bishops considers it would be a matter of social injustice to
exclude from ministry those who are faithful to the teaching of the
Church, and who decide to register a civil partnership."[21]
Statistics
Edit
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,[25] 7,169 in 2008,[26] 6,281 in 2009,[27] 6,385 in 2010,[28] and 6,795 in
2011 (up 6.4%).[29]
Divorces/dissolutions for partnerships were between women 64.6% of
the time in 2011, which, when compared to the 50.7% take up of civil
partnerships for men over the same year and a 51.2% rate for women in
2010, suggests the partnerships of women were failing significantly
more overall than between men considering the ONS claim that more
men were entering partnerships before 2007 and the numbers had
evened out since. The end of 2011 also saw a total of 53,417 civil
partnerships between 106,834 people, meaning estimates by the 2004
Labour government of between 11,000 and 22,000 people entering
partnerships by 2010 were less than a fifth of the actual amount. 25.5%
of civil partnerships for the UK were granted just in London, followed
by Brighton and Hove and statistically the average age for a civil
partnership was 40 for men and 38 for women in 2011.[30]