Responses to Civil Partnership:A framework for the legal recognition ...

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The Registration ProcessQ. How will you protect same-sex couples from registration officers whodisapprove of civil partnerships and might offer an inferior service?A. There would be a legal requirement on registration officers to provide themeans to register a civil partnership and this would have to be provided tothe same high standards as for other statutory services.Q. What about those registration officers who would hold a principled and moralobjection to conducting a civil partnership registration? Will they be forced toconduct registrations?A. Registration officers would be under a statutory duty to provide a civilpartnership registration service.Q. Why can’t we have a ceremony?A. The legal requirements of civil partnership registration are likely to involvegiving notice of intention to register, meeting the eligibility requirementsand signing the civil partnership register in the presence of a registrationofficer and two witnesses. Same-sex couples could arrange a ceremony inaddition if they wish, but this would not be legally required. Responses tothe consultation suggest that some couples do want a ceremony andother couples don’t. Local authorities would gain responsibility forproviding the registration service. Local authorities would be free to offera ceremony on the day of registration if they so wish. Whether aceremony is held would be a decision for both the local authority and thecouple.The Government has no desire to restrict unnecessarily individuals’freedom to celebrate the registration of their civil partnership.34
Q. Will we be able to register outside of the registration office? Can we registerin a different area to our own?A. The Government’s consultation paper ‘Civil Registration: Delivering VitalChange’ proposes the removal of current geographical constraints thateventually might allow couples a wider choice of where to accessregistration services.Q. Will same-sex couples be able to register a UK civil partnership abroad?A. The Government is carefully considering whether to offer same-sexcouples the facility to register their partnership at a UK diplomatic postabroad in certain circumstances, in a similar way as applies for marriage.However, any such facility would depend on there being insufficientfacilities to register a civil partnership under the law of the foreigncountry where they resided, and on the agreement of the country inquestion.Recognition of Overseas Partnership SchemesQ. Will you recognise civil partnerships, same-sex marriages and cohabitationagreements entered into outside the UK?A. The Government is minded to set out specific criteria that overseaspartnership schemes would have to meet in order for the UK Governmentto recognise them as conferring the status of civil partnership underEnglish law.35
Page 4: Table of contentsForeword by Jacqui
Page 9 and 10: 2. Analysis of your responses83% of
Page 11 and 12: 2.9 Of those representing the Publi
Page 13 and 14: 3. Emerging Themes3.1 Throughout th
Page 15 and 16: Why exclude opposite-sex couples?3.
Page 18 and 19: Tax3.8 A large number of people rai
Page 20 and 21: Elderly same-sex couples3.13 It was
Page 22: 4. Your responses to our questions4
Page 26: Do you wish to comment on the possi
Page 29: Are there any other rights and resp
Page 32 and 33: 5. Your Questions5.1 We asked for c
Page 36: The Dissolution ProcessQ. Why not o
Page 39 and 40: Hospital Visiting and Medical Treat
Page 41 and 42: Many married couples do not have ch
Page 43 and 44: Comments or ComplaintsIf you wish t

Responses to Civil Partnership:A framework for the legal recognition ...

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