Irish law is often criticised for living under the shadow of the Catholic Church and nowhere was this more apparent than in our failure to recognise same-sex couples. Up until January 2011 same- sex couples were offered little or no legal rights. However the introduction of “The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010” (the Act) brought about significant changes bringing our laws more in line with the modern Irish Family.
Briefly, the Act is divided into two parts. The first part, Civil Partnership, only applies to same-sex couples who register their partnership. The second part, Cohabitation, applies to certain unregistered, unmarried couples either of the same-sex or opposite sex. For the purpose of this article I intend to deal only with the first part of the Act.
Civil Partnership – Who is eligible?
1. Parties must be of the same-sex. There is no requirement that the parties are gay or bisexual, but they must be of the same “legal” sex.
2. Age & Consent. Parties must be at least 18 years of age at the time of registration. Parties must give free and informed consent to the registration.
3. Freedom to enter into a Civil Partnership. Parties must not be in an existing marriage or Civil Partnership.
As in the case of marriage, the parties must first give three months written notice to a registrar of Civil Partnerships and at least 5 days before the ceremony both parties must make signed declarations to the effect that there are no legal impediments to their Civil Partnership.
A Civil Partnership is terminated only on the death of a partner or on dissolution of the relationship by a court. A Civil Partnership may be dissolved by a court where the parties have lived apart for two of the previous three years. Unfortunately ‘living-apart’ is not defined in the Act and the interpretations in the Family Law Divorce Act are not very clear. Each case is best assessed on its own particular facts. I would strongly advise seeking legal advice in relation to this point, particularly if you feel the relationship has broken down beyond repair for more than two years but you are still living together. Ireland also recognises foreign Civil Partnerships therefore if you registered your relationship in another country and now wish to have the relationship dissolved you can do so through the Irish Courts if one or both parties reside in Ireland.
If you are looking for more information on this subject you can contact Brophy Solicitors by telephone or email at laura[at}brophysolicitors.ie
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