Civil Partnership Bill [Lords]

---

[back to previous text]

New clause 1

Separation

'(1) An action for the separation of the civil partners in a civil partnership may be brought in the Court of Session or in the sheriff court.

Column Number: 227

(2) In such an action the court may grant decree if satisfied that the circumstances set out in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 115(3) are established.'.

New clause 2

Applications under section 66

by former civil partners

'(1) This section applies where a civil partnership has been dissolved or annulled.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), an application may be made under section 66 (including that section as extended by section 67) by either former civil partner despite the dissolution or annulment (and references in those sections to a civil partner are to be read accordingly).

(3) The application must be made within the period of 3 years beginning with the date of the dissolution or annulment.'.

New clause 3

Evidence

'(1) Any enactment or rule of law relating to the giving of evidence by a spouse applies in relation to a civil partner as it applies in relation to the spouse.

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to any specific amendment made by or under this Act which relates to the giving of evidence by a civil partner.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, in any such amendment, references to a person's civil partner do not include a former civil partner.

(4) References in subsections (1) and (2) to giving evidence are to giving evidence in any way (whether by supplying information, making discovery, producing documents or otherwise).

(5) Any rule of law—

(a) which is preserved by section 7(3) of the Civil Evidence Act 1995 (c.38) or section 118(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c.44), and

(b) under which in any proceedings evidence of reputation or family tradition is admissible for the purpose of proving or disproving the existence of a marriage,

is to be treated as applying in an equivalent way for the purpose of proving or disproving the existence of a civil partnership.'.

New clause 4

Succession: legal rights arising by virtue of civil partnership

'(1) Where a person dies survived by a civil partner then, unless the circumstance is as mentioned in subsection (2), the civil partner has right to half of the moveable net estate belonging to the deceased at the time of death.

(2) That circumstance is that the person is also survived by issue, in which case the civil partner has right to a third of that moveable net estate and those issue have right to another third of it.

(3) In this section—

''issue'' means issue however remote, and

''net estate'' has the meaning given by section 36(1) (interpretation) of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 (c.41).

(4) Every testamentary disposition executed after the commencement of this section by which provision is made in favour of the civil partner of the testator and which does not contain a declaration to the effect that the provision so made is in full and final satisfaction of the right to any share in the testator's estate to which the civil partner is entitled by virtue of subsection (1) or (2), has effect (unless the disposition contains an express provision to the contrary) as if it contained such a declaration.

(5) In section 36(1) of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 (c.41), in the definition of ''legal rights'', for ''and legitim'' substitute ''legitim and rights under section (Succession: legal rights arising by virtue of civil partnership) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004''.'.

Column Number: 228

New clause 5

Validity of civil partnerships registered

outside Northern Ireland

'(1) Where two people register as civil partners of each other in England or Wales, the civil partnership is—

(a) void, if it would be void in England and Wales under section 49, and

(b) voidable, if the circumstances fall within any paragraph of section 170(1).

(2) Where two people register as civil partners of each other in Scotland, the civil partnership is—

(a) void, if it would be void in Scotland under section 120, and

(b) voidable, if the circumstances fall within section 170(1)(d).

(3) Subsection (4) applies where two people register as civil partners of each other under an Order in Council under—

(a) section 202 (registration at British consulates etc.),or

(b) section 203 (registration by armed forces personnel),

(''the relevant section'').

(4) The civil partnership is—

(a) void, if—

(i) the condition in subsection (2)(a) or (b) of the relevant section is not met, or

(ii) a requirement prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph by an Order in Council under the relevant section is not complied with, and

(b) voidable, if—

(i) the appropriate part of the United Kingdom is Northern Ireland or England and Wales and the circumstances fall within any paragraph of section 170(1), or

(ii) the appropriate part of the United Kingdom is Scotland and the circumstances fall within section 170(1)(d).

(5) The appropriate part of the United Kingdom is the part by reference to which the condition in subsection (2)(b) of the relevant section is met.

(6) Subsections (7) and (8) apply where two people have registered an apparent or alleged overseas relationship.

(7) The civil partnership is void if—

(a) the relationship is not an overseas relationship, or

(b) (even though the relationship is an overseas relationship) the parties are not treated under Chapter 2 of Part 5 as having formed a civil partnership.

(8) The civil partnership is voidable if—

(a) the overseas relationship is voidable under the relevant law,

(b) the circumstances fall within section 170(1)(d), or

(c) where either of the parties was domiciled in Northern Ireland or England and Wales at the time when the overseas relationship was registered, the circumstances fall within section 170(1)(a), (b), (c) or (e).

(9) Section 171 applies for the purposes of—

(a) subsections (1)(b), (2)(b) and (4)(b),

(b) subsection (8)(a), in so far as applicable in accordance with the relevant law, and

(c) subsection (8)(b) and (c).

(10) In subsections (8)(a) and (9)(b) ''the relevant law'' means the law of the country or territory where the overseas relationship was registered (including its rules of private international law).

(11) For the purposes of subsections (8) and (9)(b) and (c), references in sections 170 and 171 to the formation of a civil partnership are to be read as references to the registration of the overseas relationship.'.

Column Number: 229

New clause 6

Applications under section 186 by former civil partners etc.

'(1) Where a civil partnership has been dissolved or annulled or is void (whether or not it has been annulled), either party may make an application under section 186 (or under that section as extended by section 187) and references in those sections to a civil partner are to be read accordingly.

(2) An application under subsection (1) must—

(a) where the civil partnership has been dissolved or annulled, be made within the period of 3 years beginning with the date of the dissolution or annulment, and

(b) where a civil partnership is void but has not been annulled and the parties have ceased to live together in the same household, be made within the period of 3 years beginning with the date on which they ceased so to live together.'.

New clause 7

Evidence (No.2)

'(1) Any enactment or rule of law relating to the giving of evidence by a spouse applies in relation to a civil partner as it applies in relation to the spouse.

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to any specific amendment made by or under this Act which relates to the giving of evidence by a civil partner.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, in any such amendment, references to a person's civil partner do not include a former civil partner.

(4) References in subsections (1) and (2) to giving evidence are to giving evidence in any way (whether by supplying information, making discovery, producing documents or otherwise).

(5) Any rule of law—

(a) which is preserved by Article 22(1) of the Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, and

(b) under which in any proceedings evidence of reputation or family tradition is admissible for the purpose of proving or disproving the existence of a marriage,

is to be treated as applying in an equivalent way for the purpose of proving or disproving the existence of a civil partnership.'.

New clause 8

Restriction on publicity of reports of proceedings

'Section 1 of the Matrimonial Causes (Reports) Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 (c.29 (N.I.)) (restriction on publication of reports of proceedings) shall extend to proceedings—

(a) for the dissolution or annulment of a civil partnership or for the legal separation of civil partners,

(b) under section 176,

(c) under Part 7 of Schedule 16, or

(d) under Part 9 of Schedule 16 in relation to an order under Part 7 of that Schedule.'.

New clause 9

Gender recognition where applicant a civil partner

'(1) Amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (c.7) as follows.

(2) In—

(a) section 3 (evidence), in subsection (6)(a), and

(b) section 4 (successful applications), in subsections (2) and (3),

after ''is married'' insert ''or a civil partner''.

(3) In section 5 (subsequent issue of full certificates)—

(a) in subsection (2), after ''is again married'' insert ''or is a civil partner'',

Column Number: 230

(b) in subsection (6)(a), for ''is not married'' substitute ''is neither married nor a civil partner'', and

(c) for the heading substitute ''Issue of full certificates where applicant has been married''.

(4) After section 5 insert—

''5A Issue of full certificates where applicant has been a civil partner

(1) A court which—

(a) makes final a nullity order made on the ground that an interim gender recognition certificate has been issued to a civil partner, or

(b) (in Scotland) grants a decree of dissolution on that ground,

must, on doing so, issue a full gender recognition certificate to that civil partner and send a copy to the Secretary of State.

(2) If an interim gender recognition certificate has been issued to a person and either—

(a) the person's civil partnership is dissolved or annulled (otherwise than on the ground mentioned in subsection (1)) in proceedings instituted during the period of six months beginning with the day on which it was issued, or

(b) the person's civil partner dies within that period,

the person may make an application for a full gender recognition certificate at any time within the period specified in subsection (3) (unless the person is again a civil partner or is married).

(3) That period is the period of six months beginning with the day on which the civil partnership is dissolved or annulled or the death occurs.

(4) An application under subsection (2) must include evidence of the dissolution or annulment of the civil partnership and the date on which proceedings for it were instituted, or of the death of the civil partner and the date on which it occurred.

(5) An application under subsection (2) is to be determined by a Gender Recognition Panel.

(6) The Panel—

(a) must grant the application if satisfied that the applicant is neither a civil partner nor married, and

(b) otherwise must reject it.

(7) If the Panel grants the application it must issue a full gender recognition certificate to the applicant.''

(5) In—

(a) section 7 (applications: supplementary), in subsection (1),

(b) section 8 (appeals etc.),in subsections (1) and (5), and

(c) section 22 (prohibition on disclosure of information), in subsection (2)(a),

after ''5(2)'' insert '', 5A(2)''.

(6) In section 21 (foreign gender change and marriage), in subsection (4), after ''entered into a later (valid) marriage'' insert ''or civil partnership''.

(7) In section 25 (interpretation), in the definition of ''full gender recognition certificate'' and ''interim gender recognition certificate'', for ''or 5'' substitute '', 5 or 5A''.

(8) In Schedule 1 (Gender Recognition Panels), in paragraph 5, after ''5(2)'' insert '', 5A(2)''.

(9) In Schedule 3 (registration), in paragraphs 9(1), 19(1) and 29(1), for ''or 5(2)'' substitute '', 5(2) or 5A(2)''.'.

 

---

Prepared 26 October 2004