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151 | Registration districts and registration authorities |
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(1) | Each local government district shall be a registration district and the district |
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council shall be the local registration authority for the purposes of this Part. |
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(2) | A district council shall, in the exercise of functions conferred on it as a local |
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(a) | act as agent for the Department of Finance and Personnel, and |
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(b) | act in accordance with such directions as that Department may give to |
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(3) | Any expenditure to be incurred by the district council in the exercise of |
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functions conferred on it as a local registration authority shall be subject to the |
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approval of the Registrar General. |
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(4) | The Department of Finance and Personnel shall retain or, as the case may be, |
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defray in respect of each financial year the amount of the difference between— |
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(a) | the aggregate of the amounts of salaries, pension provision and other |
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expenses payable by virtue of this Part in respect of any registration |
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(b) | the aggregate of the amounts received in that registration district under |
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any statutory provision or otherwise by way of fees or other expenses. |
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152 | Registrars and other staff |
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(1) | A local registration authority shall, with the approval of the Registrar General, |
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(a) | a registrar of civil partnerships, and |
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(b) | one or more deputy registrars of civil partnerships. |
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(2) | A person holding an appointment under subsection (1) may with the approval |
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of, and shall at the direction of, the Registrar General be removed from his |
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office of registrar or deputy registrar by the local registration authority. |
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(3) | A local registration authority shall, at the direction of the Registrar General, |
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appoint additional persons to register civil partnerships and carry out other |
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functions for the purposes of this Part. |
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(4) | A person shall not be appointed under subsection (1) or (3) if he is under the |
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(5) | Regulations under section 159 may confer additional functions on a person |
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holding an appointment under subsection (1). |
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(6) | A person holding an appointment under subsection (1) shall, in exercising his |
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functions under this Part or any other statutory provision, be subject to such |
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instructions or directions as the Registrar General may give. |
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153 | Records and documents to be sent to Registrar General |
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If the Registrar General directs him to do so, a person must send to the |
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Registrar General any record or document relating to civil partnerships in |
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accordance with the Registrar General’s directions. |
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|
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|
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(1) | The Registrar General must send to the Department of Finance and Personnel |
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an annual report of the number of civil partnerships registered during each |
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year, together with such other information as he considers it appropriate to |
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(2) | The Department of Finance and Personnel must lay the report before the |
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Northern Ireland Assembly. |
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(1) | The Registrar General must provide indexes to civil partnership registration |
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records in his custody for inspection by the public. |
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(2) | A registrar must provide indexes to civil partnership registration records in his |
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custody for inspection by the public. |
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(3) | Any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee— |
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(a) | search any index mentioned in subsection (1) or (2), and |
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(b) | require the Registrar General or, as the case may be, the registrar to give |
| 15 |
him a document in the prescribed form relating to the registration of a |
| |
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(4) | The Registrar General must cause any document given by him under this |
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section or section 156 to be stamped with the seal of the General Register Office. |
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(5) | Judicial notice shall be taken of any document so stamped. |
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156 | Proof of civil partnership for purposes of certain statutory provisions |
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(1) | Where the civil partnership of a person is required to be proved for the |
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purposes of any prescribed statutory provision, any person— |
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(a) | on application to the Registrar General, and |
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(b) | on payment of the prescribed fee, |
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| is entitled to a document in the prescribed form relating to the registration of |
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the civil partnership of that person. |
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(2) | An application under subsection (1) must be in such form and accompanied by |
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such particulars as the Registrar General may require. |
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(3) | The Registrar General or any registrar may, on payment of the prescribed fee, |
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issue such information (including a document as mentioned in subsection (1)) |
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as may be required for the purposes of any prescribed statutory provision. |
| |
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(1) | The Department of Finance and Personnel may by order prescribe— |
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(a) | any fee which is required to be prescribed for the purposes of this |
| 35 |
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(b) | fees for such other matters as that Department considers necessary or |
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expedient for the purposes of this Chapter. |
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(2) | The power to make an order under subsection (1) is exercisable by statutory |
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rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. |
| 40 |
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|
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(3) | An order under subsection (1) may only be made if a draft has been laid before |
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and approved by resolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly. |
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(1) | Any registrar who signs a civil partnership schedule in the absence of the civil |
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partners is guilty of an offence. |
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(2) | Any person who is not a registrar but officiates at the signing of a civil |
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partnership schedule in such a way as to lead the civil partners to believe that |
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he is a registrar is guilty of an offence. |
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(3) | A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary |
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conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to |
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imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both. |
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(4) | Notwithstanding anything in Article 19(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts |
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(Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26)) (limitation of time for |
| |
taking proceedings), proceedings for an offence under this section may be |
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instituted at any time within 3 years after the commission of the offence. |
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(1) | The Department of Finance and Personnel may by regulations make such |
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provision as appears to it necessary or expedient for the registration of civil |
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partnerships in Northern Ireland. |
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(2) | The power to make regulations under subsection (1) is exercisable by statutory |
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rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 |
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(S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I. 12)). |
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(3) | Regulations under subsection (1) shall be subject to negative resolution (within |
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the meaning of section 41(6) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 |
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| “civil partnership notice” means a notice of proposed civil partnership |
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| “civil partnership notice book” has the meaning given by section 140; |
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| “prescribed”, except in relation to a fee, means prescribed by regulations |
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under section 159 and, in relation to a fee, means prescribed by order |
| |
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| “registrar” means such person appointed under section 152(1)(a) or (b) or |
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(3) as may be prescribed; |
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| “Registrar General” means the Registrar General for Northern Ireland; |
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| “statutory provision” has the meaning given by section 1(f) of the |
| |
Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954. |
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Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings |
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161 | Powers to make orders and effect of orders |
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(1) | The court may, in accordance with this Chapter— |
| 5 |
(a) | make an order (a “dissolution order”) which dissolves a civil |
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partnership on the ground that it has broken down irretrievably; |
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(b) | make an order (a “nullity order”) which annuls a civil partnership |
| |
which is void or voidable; |
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(c) | make an order (a “presumption of death order”) which dissolves a civil |
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partnership on the ground that one of the civil partners is presumed to |
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(d) | make an order (a “separation order”) which provides for the separation |
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(2) | Every dissolution, nullity or presumption of death order— |
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(a) | is, in the first instance, a conditional order, and |
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(b) | may not be made final before the end of the prescribed period (see |
| |
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and any reference in this Chapter to a conditional order is to be read |
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(3) | A nullity order made where a civil partnership is voidable annuls the civil |
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partnership only as respects any time after the order has been made final, and |
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the civil partnership is to be treated (despite the order) as if it had existed up to |
| |
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(4) | In this Chapter “the court” has the meaning given by section 188. |
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(5) | This Chapter is subject to section 219 and sections 228 to 232 (jurisdiction of the |
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162 | The period before conditional orders may be made final |
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(1) | Subject to subsection (2), the prescribed period for the purposes of section |
| |
161(2)(b) is 6 weeks from the making of the conditional order. |
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(2) | In a particular case the court dealing with the case may by order shorten the |
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163 | Intervention by the Crown Solicitor |
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(1) | This section applies if an application has been made for a dissolution, nullity |
| |
or presumption of death order. |
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(2) | The court may, if it thinks fit, direct that all necessary papers in the matter are |
| |
to be sent to the Crown Solicitor who must under the directions of the Attorney |
| |
General instruct counsel to argue before the court any question in relation to |
| |
the matter which the court considers it necessary or expedient to have fully |
| |
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|
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|
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|
(3) | If any person at any time— |
| |
(a) | during the progress of the proceedings, or |
| |
(b) | before the conditional order is made final, |
| |
| gives information to the Crown Solicitor on any matter material to the due |
| |
decision of the case, the Crown Solicitor may take such steps as the Attorney |
| 5 |
General considers necessary or expedient. |
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(4) | If the Crown Solicitor intervenes or shows cause against the making of the |
| |
conditional order in any proceedings relating to its making, the court may |
| |
make such order as may be just as to— |
| |
(a) | the payment by other parties to the proceedings of the costs incurred by |
| 10 |
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(b) | the payment by the Crown Solicitor of any costs incurred by any of |
| |
those parties because of his doing so. |
| |
| |
| “the Attorney General” means the Attorney General for Northern Ireland; |
| 15 |
| |
| “the Crown Solicitor” means the Crown Solicitor for Northern Ireland. |
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164 | Proceedings before order has been made final |
| |
(1) | This section applies if— |
| |
(a) | a conditional order has been made, and |
| 20 |
(b) | the Crown Solicitor, or any person who has not been a party to |
| |
proceedings in which the order was made, shows cause why the order |
| |
should not be made final on the ground that material facts have not |
| |
been brought before the court. |
| |
(2) | This section also applies if— |
| 25 |
(a) | a conditional order has been made, |
| |
(b) | 3 months have elapsed since the earliest date on which an application |
| |
could have been made for the order to be made final, |
| |
(c) | no such application has been made by the civil partner who applied for |
| |
the conditional order, and |
| 30 |
(d) | the other civil partner makes an application to the court under this |
| |
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(a) | make the order final, |
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| 35 |
(c) | require further inquiry, or |
| |
(d) | otherwise deal with the case as it thinks fit. |
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(a) | applies despite section 161(2) (period before conditional orders may be |
| |
| 40 |
(b) | is subject to section 172(4) (protection for respondent in separation |
| |
cases) and section 186 (restrictions on making of orders affecting |
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