Civil Partnership Bill [HL]

House of Lords

Session 2003 - 04
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Other Bills before Parliament

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 2 — Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
17

37
The period before conditional orders may be made final
(1)
Subject to subsections (2) to (4), the prescribed period for the purposes of
section 36(2)(b) is—
(a)
6 weeks from the making of the conditional order, or
(b)
if the 6 week period would end on a day on which the office or registry
5
of the court dealing with the case is closed, the period of 6 weeks
extended to the end of the first day on which the office or registry is
next open.
(2)
The Lord Chancellor may by order amend this section so as to substitute a
different definition of the prescribed period for the purposes of section
10
36(2)(b).
(3)
But the Lord Chancellor may not under subsection (2) provide for a period
longer than 6 months to be the prescribed period.
(4)
In a particular case the court dealing with the case may by order shorten the
prescribed period.
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(5)
The power to make an order under subsection (2) is exercisable by statutory
instrument.
(6)
An instrument containing such an order is subject to annulment in pursuance
of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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Intervention of the Queen’s Proctor
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(1)
This section applies if an application has been made for a dissolution, nullity
or presumption of death order.
(2)
The court may, if it thinks fit, direct that all necessary papers in the matter are
to be sent to the Queen’s Proctor who must under the directions of the
Attorney General instruct counsel to argue before the court any question in
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relation to the matter which the court considers it necessary or expedient to
have fully argued.
(3)
If any person at any time—
(a)
during the progress of the proceedings, or
(b)
before the conditional order is made final,
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gives information to the Queen’s Proctor on any matter material to the due
decision of the case, the Queen’s Proctor may take such steps as the Attorney
General considers necessary or expedient.
(4)
If the Queen’s Proctor intervenes or shows cause against the making of the
conditional order in any proceedings relating to its making, the court may
35
make such order as may be just as to—
(a)
the payment by other parties to the proceedings of the costs incurred by
him in doing so, or
(b)
the payment by the Queen’s Proctor of any costs incurred by any of
those parties because of his doing so.
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(5)
The Queen’s Proctor is entitled to charge as part of the expenses of his office—
(a)
the costs of any proceedings under subsection (2);
(b)
if his reasonable costs of intervening or showing cause as mentioned in
subsection (4) are not fully satisfied by an order under subsection (4)(a),
the amount of the difference;
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Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 2 — Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
18

(c)
if the Treasury so directs, any costs which he pays to any parties under
an order made under subsection (4)(b).
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Proceedings before order has been made final
(1)
This section applies if—
(a)
a conditional order has been made, and
5
(b)
the Queen’s Proctor, or any person who has not been a party to
proceedings in which the order was made, shows cause why the order
should not be made final on the ground that material facts have not
been brought before the court.
(2)
This section also applies if—
10
(a)
a conditional order has been made,
(b)
3 months have elapsed since the earliest date on which an application
could have been made for the order to be made final,
(c)
no such application has been made by the civil partner who applied for
the conditional order, and
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(d)
the other civil partner makes an application to the court under this
subsection.
(3)
The court may—
(a)
make the order final,
(b)
rescind the order,
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(c)
require further inquiry, or
(d)
otherwise deal with the case as it thinks fit.
(4)
Subsection (3)(a)—
(a)
applies despite section 36(2) (period before conditional orders may be
made final), but
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(b)
is subject to section 47(4) (protection for respondent in separation cases)
and section 61 (restrictions on making of orders affecting children).
40
Time bar on applications for dissolution orders
(1)
No application for a dissolution order may be made to the court before the end
of the period of 1 year from the date of the formation of the civil partnership.
30
(2)
Nothing in this section prevents the making of an application based on matters
which occurred before the end of the 1 year period.
41
Attempts at reconciliation of civil partners
(1)
This section applies in relation to cases where an application is made for a
dissolution or separation order.
35
(2)
Rules of court must make provision for requiring the solicitor acting for the
applicant to certify whether he has—
(a)
discussed with the applicant the possibility of a reconciliation with the
other civil partner, and
(b)
given the applicant the names and addresses of persons qualified to
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help effect a reconciliation between civil partners who have become
estranged.

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 2 — Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
19

(3)
If at any stage of proceedings for the order it appears to the court that there is
a reasonable possibility of a reconciliation between the civil partners, the court
may adjourn the proceedings for such period as it thinks fit to enable attempts
to be made to effect a reconciliation between them.
(4)
The power to adjourn under subsection (3) is additional to any other power of
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adjournment.
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Consideration by the court of certain agreements or arrangements
(1)
This section applies in relation to cases where—
(a)
proceedings for a dissolution or separation order are contemplated or
have begun, and
10
(b)
an agreement or arrangement is made or proposed to be made between
the civil partners which relates to, arises out of, or is connected with, the
proceedings.
(2)
Rules of court may make provision for enabling—
(a)
the civil partners, or either of them, to refer the agreement or
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arrangement to the court, and
(b)
the court—
(i)
to express an opinion, if it thinks it desirable to do so, as to the
reasonableness of the agreement or arrangement, and
(ii)
to give such directions, if any, in the matter as it thinks fit.
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Dissolution of civil partnerships
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Dissolution of civil partnership which has broken down irretrievably
(1)
Subject to section 40, an application for a dissolution order may be made to the
court by either civil partner on the ground that the civil partnership has broken
down irretrievably.
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(2)
On an application for a dissolution order the court must inquire, so far as it
reasonably can, into—
(a)
the facts alleged by the applicant, and
(b)
any facts alleged by the respondent.
(3)
The court hearing an application for a dissolution order must not hold that the
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civil partnership has broken down irretrievably unless the applicant satisfies
the court of one or more of the facts described in subsection (5)(a), (b), (c) or (d).
(4)
But if the court is satisfied of any of those facts, it must make a dissolution
order unless it is satisfied on all the evidence that the civil partnership has not
broken down irretrievably.
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(5)
The facts referred to in subsections (3) and (4) are—
(a)
that the respondent has behaved in such a way that the applicant
cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent;
(b)
that—
(i)
the applicant and the respondent have lived apart for a
40
continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the
making of the application (“2 years’ separation”), and
(ii)
the respondent consents to a dissolution order being made;

Civil Partnership Bill [HL]
Part 2 — Civil partnerships: England and Wales
Chapter 2 — Dissolution, nullity and other proceedings
20

(c)
that the applicant and the respondent have lived apart for a continuous
period of at least 5 years immediately preceding the making of the
application (“5 years’ separation”);
(d)
that the respondent has deserted the applicant for a continuous period
of at least 2 years immediately preceding the making of the application.
5
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Supplemental provisions as to facts raising presumption of breakdown
(1)
Subsection (2) applies if—
(a)
in any proceedings for a dissolution order the applicant alleges, in
reliance on section 43(5)(a), that the respondent has behaved in such a
way that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to live with the
10
respondent, but
(b)
after the date of the occurrence of the final incident relied on by the
applicant and held by the court to support his allegation, the applicant
and the respondent have lived together for a period (or periods) which
does not, or which taken together do not, exceed 6 months.
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(2)
The fact that the applicant and respondent have lived together as mentioned in
subsection (1)(b) must be disregarded in determining, for the purposes of
section 43(5)(a), whether the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to live
with the respondent.
(3)
Subsection (4) applies in relation to cases where the applicant alleges, in
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reliance on section 43(5)(b), that the respondent consents to a dissolution order
being made.
(4)
Rules of court must make provision for the purpose of ensuring that the
respondent has been given such information as will enable him to
understand—
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(a)
the consequences to him of consenting to the making of the order, and
(b)
the steps which he must take to indicate his consent.
(5)
For the purposes of section 43(5)(d) the court may treat a period of desertion as
having continued at a time when the deserting civil partner was incapable of
continuing the necessary intention, if the evidence before the court is such that,
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had he not been so incapable, the court would have inferred that the desertion
continued at that time.
(6)
In considering for the purposes of section 43(5) whether the period for which
the civil partners have lived apart or the period for which the respondent has
deserted the applicant has been continuous, no account is to be taken of—
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(a)
any one period not exceeding 6 months, or
(b)
any two or more periods not exceeding 6 months in all,

during which the civil partners resumed living with each other.
(7)
But no period during which the civil partners have lived with each other
counts as part of the period during which the civil partners have lived apart or
40
as part of the period of desertion.
(8)
For the purposes of section 43(5)(b) and (c) and this section civil partners are to
be treated as living apart unless they are living with each other in the same
household, and references in this section to civil partners living with each other
are to be read as references to their living with each other in the same
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household.