Same-sex marriage but not mixed-sex partnerships: should the Civil Partnership Act 2004 be extended to opposite-sex couples?

Ruth Gaffney-Rhys

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which was presented by the Government as an equality measure, enables same sex couples to marry, but does not extend civil partnerships to opposite sex couples. This paper suggests that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in its current form should be extended to heterosexual couples on the grounds of equality, privacy, dignity and autonomy and argues that denying mixed-sex couples the right to form a civil partnership contravenes Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950. The article also considers whether heterosexual couples would regard forming a civil partnership as an attractive option by examining research relating to the attitudes of cohabiting couples who have chosen not to marry and the popularity of formal alternatives to marriage among opposite-sex couples in France and the Netherlands. While the distinguishing features ofthe Frenchpacte civil de solidarite (PACS) and the Dutch model of registered partnership make it difficult to predict the popularity of civil partnerships among heterosexual couples in England and Wales, research regarding cohabitants’ perspectives on marriage suggests that many couples who reject marriage on ideological grounds would form a civil partnership if this option was available. The paper thus concludes that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 should be extended to opposite-sex couples. © 2017 Robert Leckey.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationMarital Rights
    Subtitle of host publication The Library of Essays on Family Rights
    EditorsRobert Leckey
    PublisherRoutledge
    Pages343-364
    ISBN (Print)978-135155918-8 , 978-147246574-0
    Publication statusPublished - 28 Oct 2016

    Publication series

    NameThe Library of Essays on Family Rights
    PublisherRoutledge

    Keywords

    • same-sex relationship recognition
    • civil partnership

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