Civil Partnership Bill [HL]

House of Lords

Session 2003 - 04
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 1 — Registration
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borough council, the Common Council of the City of London or the
Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(b)
in relation to Wales, a county council or a county borough council.
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Civil partnership registrars
(1)
A civil partnership registrar is an individual who is designated by a
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registration authority as a civil partnership registrar for its area.
(2)
It is the duty of each registration authority to ensure that there is a sufficient
number of civil partnership registrars for its area to carry out in that area the
functions of civil partnership registrars.
(3)
Each registration authority must inform the Registrar General as soon as is
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practicable—
(a)
of any designation it has made of a person as a civil partnership
registrar, and
(b)
of the ending of any such designation.
(4)
The Registrar General must make available to the public a list—
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(a)
of civil partnership registrars, and
(b)
of the registration authorities for which they are designated to act.
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The Registrar General and the register
(1)
In this Chapter “the Registrar General” means the Registrar General for
England and Wales.
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(2)
The Registrar General must provide a system for keeping any records that
relate to civil partnerships and are required by this Chapter to be made.
(3)
The system may, in particular, enable those records to be kept together with
other records kept by the Registrar General.
(4)
In this Chapter “the register” means the system for keeping records provided
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under subsection (2).
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Offences relating to civil partnership schedule
(1)
A person commits an offence if he issues a civil partnership schedule knowing
that he does so—
(a)
before the end of the waiting period,
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(b)
after the end of the applicable period, or
(c)
at a time when its issue has been forbidden under Schedule 2 by a
person entitled to forbid its issue.
(2)
A person commits an offence if, in his actual or purported capacity as a civil
partnership registrar, he officiates at the signing of a civil partnership schedule
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by proposed civil partners knowing that he does so—
(a)
at a place other than the place specified in the notices of proposed civil
partnership and the civil partnership schedule,
(b)
in the absence of a civil partnership registrar,
(c)
before the end of the waiting period, or
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(d)
even though the civil partnership is void under section 48(b) or (c).

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 1 — Registration
14

(3)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction
on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine (or
both).
(4)
A prosecution under this section may not be commenced more than 3 years
after the commission of the offence.
5
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Offences relating to Registrar General’s licence
(1)
A person commits an offence if—
(a)
he gives information by way of evidence in response to a requirement
under section 22(1), knowing that the information is false;
(b)
he gives a certificate as provided for by section 22(3), knowing that the
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certificate is false.
(2)
A person commits an offence if, in his actual or purported capacity as a civil
partnership registrar, he officiates at the signing of a Registrar General’s
licence by proposed civil partners knowing that he does so—
(a)
at a place other than the place specified in the licence,
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(b)
in the absence of a civil partnership registrar,
(c)
after the end of 1 month from the day on which the notice of proposed
civil partnership was given, or
(d)
even though the civil partnership is void under section 48(b) or (c).
(3)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable—
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(a)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or
to a fine (or both);
(b)
on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum.
(4)
A prosecution under this section may not be commenced more than 3 years
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after the commission of the offence.
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Offences relating to the recording of civil partnerships
(1)
A civil partnership registrar commits an offence if he refuses or fails to comply
with the provisions of this Chapter or of any regulations made under section
35.
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(2)
A civil partnership registrar guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
(a)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
2 years or to a fine (or to both);
(b)
on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum;
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and on conviction shall cease to be a civil partnership registrar.
(3)
A person commits an offence if—
(a)
under arrangements made by a registration authority for the purposes
of section 2(4), he is under a duty to record information required to be
recorded under section 2(4), but
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(b)
he refuses or without reasonable cause omits to do so.
(4)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 1 — Registration
15

(5)
A person commits an offence if he records in the register information relating
to the formation of a civil partnership by the signing of a civil partnership
schedule, knowing that the civil partnership is void under section 48(b) or (c).
(6)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on conviction on
indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine (or
5
both).
(7)
A person commits an offence if he records in the register information relating
to the formation of a civil partnership by the signing of a Registrar General’s
licence, knowing that the civil partnership is void under section 48(b) or (c).
(8)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (7) is liable—
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(a)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
3 years or to a fine (or both);
(b)
on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum.
(9)
A prosecution under subsection (5) or (7) may not be commenced more than 3
15
years after the commission of the offence.
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Fees
(1)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer may by order provide for fees, of such
amounts as may be specified in the order, to be payable to such persons as may
be prescribed by the order in respect of—
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(a)
the giving of a notice of proposed civil partnership and the attestation
of the necessary declaration;
(b)
the making of an application under section 12(1) (application to reduce
waiting period);
(c)
the issue of a Registrar General’s licence;
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(d)
the attendance of the civil partnership registrar when two people sign
the civil partnership document;
(e)
such other registration services provided either by registration
authorities or by or on behalf of the Registrar General as may be
prescribed by the order.
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(2)
The Registrar General may remit the fee for the issue of his licence in whole or
in part in any case where it appears to him that the payment of the fee would
cause hardship to the proposed civil partners.
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Regulations and orders
(1)
Regulations may make provision supplementing the provisions of this
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Chapter.
(2)
Regulations may in particular make provision—
(a)
relating to the use of Welsh in documents and records relating to civil
partnerships;
(b)
with respect to the retention of documents relating to civil partnerships;
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(c)
prescribing the duties of civil partnership registrars;
(d)
prescribing the duties of persons in whose presence any declaration is
made for the purposes of this Chapter;
(e)
for the issue by the Registrar General of guidance supplementing any
provision made by the regulations.
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Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 2 — Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
16

(3)
In this Chapter “regulations” means regulations made by the Registrar General
with the approval of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
(4)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer may by order amend this Act in consequence
of any order under section 1 of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (c. 6) which
includes provision relating to the system of registration of marriages in
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England and Wales.
(5)
Any power to make regulations or an order under this Chapter is exercisable
by statutory instrument.
(6)
A statutory instrument containing an order under section 34 is subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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(7)
No order may be made under subsection (4) unless a draft of the statutory
instrument containing the order has been laid before, and approved by a
resolution of, each House of Parliament.
Chapter 2
Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
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Introduction
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Powers to make orders and effect of orders
(1)
The court may, in accordance with this Chapter—
(a)
make an order (a “dissolution order”) which dissolves a civil
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;
(c)
make an order (a “presumption of death order”) which dissolves a civil
partnership on the ground that one of the civil partners is presumed to
be dead;
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(d)
make an order (a “separation order”) which provides for the separation
of the civil partners.
(2)
Every dissolution, nullity or presumption of death order—
(a)
is, in the first instance, a conditional order, and
(b)
may not be made final before the end of the prescribed period (see
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section 37);

and any reference in this Chapter to a conditional order is to be read
accordingly.
(3)
A nullity order made where a civil partnership is voidable annuls the civil
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
that time.
(4)
In this Chapter, other than in sections 56 to 59, “the court” means—
(a)
the High Court, or
(b)
if a county court has jurisdiction by virtue of Part 5 of the Matrimonial
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and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (c. 42), a county court.
(5)
This Chapter is subject to sections 159 to 164 (jurisdiction of the court).