¹ This is a revised and updated version of a paper first delivered on 16 June 2004 as a contribution to the 2004 series of London Lectures of the Ecclesiastical Law Society and in a further revision at the Greenbelt Festival on 29 August 2005.Google Scholar

² The Civil Partnership Act 2004, Part 2, comprises ss 2–84. Similar arrangements are also provided for Scotland and Northern Ireland in Part 3 (ss 85–136) and Part 4 (ss 137–209).Google Scholar

³ Ibid s 8.

⁴ Ibid s 10.

⁵ Ibid ss 11, 17(1). In exceptional circumstances the Registrar General may shorten the waiting period under s 12.

⁶ Ibid s 17(3), (4).

⁷ See Ibid s 18.

⁸ See Ibid s 19.

⁹ See Ibid s 20.

¹⁰ Amendments to the Marriage Act 1949 by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c 33), s 169(1), Sch 14, para 3, reduce the previous waiting of 21 days to 15 days, subject to the power of the Registrar General to reduce this in exceptional cases.Google Scholar

¹¹ Civil Partnership Act 2004 s 2(1).Google Scholar

¹² Ibid s 2(4).

¹³ Ibid s 2(5).

¹⁴ Marriage Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo 6, c 76), s 45(2), and ss 45A(4), 46B(4)(added respectively by the Marriage Act 1983 s 1(7), Sch 1, para 11, and by s 1(2)).Google Scholar

¹⁵ Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 1(3).Google Scholar

¹⁶ Ibid ss 37(2), 38(1).

¹⁷ Ibid s 41(1).

¹⁸ Ibid s 42.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ Ibid ss 37(1)(d), 56, 57.

²¹ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 72(1), Sch 5, paras 2(1), 6(1), 10(1), 15(1). The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (c 18), Part II, comprises ss 21–40A.Google Scholar

²² See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, Sch 5, para 21.Google Scholar

²³ See ibid ss 73, 74.

²⁴ See ibid ss 65–68.

²⁵ See ibid s 69.

²⁶ See ibid s 70.

²⁷ See ibid s 254, Sch 24.

²⁸ See Ibid s 71.

²⁹ See ibid s 81, Sch 8.

³⁰ See ibid s 82, Sch 9, amending the Family Law Act 1996 (c 27), Pt 4 (ss 30–63), and related enactments.

³¹ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 83, amending the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (c 30).Google Scholar

³² See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 251, substituting the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c 65), s 3.Google Scholar

³³ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, ss 31–33.Google Scholar

³⁴ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 255.Google Scholar

³⁵ Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 12(c).Google Scholar

³⁶ Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 50(1)(a).Google Scholar

³⁷ Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 13(1); Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 51.Google Scholar

³⁸ Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 12(d); Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 50(1)(b).Google Scholar

³⁹ 317 couples.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ See the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 1(2).Google Scholar

⁴¹ Adultery is considered further below under the subheading ‘Faithful’. Even the provision for the intervention of the Queen's Proctor is replicated in the Civil Partnership Act 2004: see s 39.Google Scholar

⁴² Ibid s 214(b).

⁴³ Dennis v Dennis (Spillett cited) [1955] P 153, [1955] 2 All ER 51, CA.Google Scholar

⁴⁴ Indeed, another ground for nullity of marriage, the fact that the respondent was, at the time of the marriage, suffering from a venereal disease in a communicable form, is also not carried over to civil partnerships. This was because the government was aware of medical evidence that people can carry venereal disease for many years without their knowledge and that therefore it is not appropriate for a ground for nullity; however, deliberate transmission of a sexually transmitted disease would be considered as a basis for dissolution as a fact proving unreasonable behaviour. Whilst this approach has some logic, it is surprising that the government has not therefore removed this ground in respect of nullity of marriage. In practice, the use of nullity procedure generally, and this ground in particular, is extremely rare.Google Scholar

⁴⁵ This raises the interesting question whether the civil partner of an Anglican priest can regard it as sufficiently unreasonable to justify a dissolution that his or her partner refuses to engage in sexual activity because of the teaching set out in Issues in Human Sexuality.Google Scholar

⁴⁶ Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 3(1)(d), Sch 1.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Eg a man cannot marry his mother or sister and cannot enter a civil partnership with his father or brother.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ This is an outworking of the biblical concept of spouses being ‘one flesh’ and therefore taking on each other's family relationships as their own.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 50(1)(c).Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 11(c).Google Scholar

⁵¹ Civil Partnership Act 2004, ss 3(1)(a), 49(a).Google Scholar

⁵² See the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (c 7), s 11, Sch 4, and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 250. See also s 50(1)(d), (e).Google Scholar

⁵³ Otherwise the church would refuse to marry the infertile and infertility would be a ground for nullity.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, ss 75–79.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ See the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 79.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ R v Dibdin [1910] P 57, CA.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ [1910] P 57 at 109.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Paragraph 20.Google Scholar

⁵⁹ Paragraph 17.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Paragraph 18.Google Scholar

⁶¹ Issues in Human Sexuality, para 5.6.Google Scholar