Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020

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Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020
Act of the Scottish Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom in Scotland (Variant 1).svg
Scottish Parliament
Long title An Act of the Scottish Parliament to enable persons of different sexes to be in a civil partnership; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2020 asp 15
Introduced by Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People
Dates
Royal assent 28 July 2020
Commencement 26 May 2019
Other legislation
Amends
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through the Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (c. 12) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which changes civil partnerships to include heterosexual couples.

Contents

Background

This act was created in response to the unanimous judgement of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in the case R (on the application of Steinfeld and Keidan) v Secretary of State for International Development in 2018 that ruled after the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, the UK Government was not justified in spending years reviewing the inequality between heterosexual and homosexual couples in relation to civil partnerships. The court made a declaration of incompatibility based on Article 14 (prohibition on discrimination) and Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the basis that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 discriminates against heterosexual couples by precluding them from entering into civil partnerships. [1] [2]

The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 essentially only affected England and Wales.

Provisions

The legislation allows mixed sex couples to enter into a civil partnership. [3]

Reception

Liberal Democrat MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton, described the measure as "sensible" and the Scottish Greens supported the measure. [4] Scottish Labour MSP, Pauline McNeill supported the change to the law and said it could allow people who have had negative experiences in marriage in the past to have their relationship recognised legally. [5]

Implementation

The first civil partnership to take place under the act took place on 30 June 2021. [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sterkaj, Filomena (2 April 2019). "Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths Act - Gepp Solicitors". Gepp Solicitors LLP. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019". Family Law Hub. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Buchanan, Nicola (6 July 2020). "Nicola Buchanan: Law on civil partnerships and marriage continues to evolve". Scottish Legal News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  4. ↑ "Consultation on mixed-sex civil partnerships in Scotland". BBC News. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Paton, Craig; Vesty, Sarah (19 May 2020). "MSPs back bill to allow mixed-sex civil partnerships in Scotland". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Civil partnerships extended to mixed-sex couples". BBC News. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
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