The Marriage Equality referendum took place on 22nd May and, after a resounding ‘yes’ vote, it appears that the forthcoming introduction of same-sex marriage will spell the end for civil partnership in Ireland. Head 3 of the General Scheme of the Marriage Bill 2015 proposes to repeal Part 7A of the Civil Registration Act 2004, which was only inserted by the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. Part 7A deals with the registration of civil partnerships, and its repeal will mean that it will no longer be possible to enter into a civil partnership in Ireland post-marriage equality. Head 3 provides that the deletion of Part 7A will not affect any subsisting civil partnership, and Head 9 provides that the parties to such civil partnerships may marry each other, whereupon the subsisting civil partnership shall stand dissolved. The General Scheme’s approach to the future of civil partnership is perhaps unsurprising when considered against the backdrop of the Constitution of Ireland.
Ireland is one of several key jurisdictions to be analysed in July 2015 at a Durham-Cambridge Comparative Family Law conference entitled “The Future of Registered Partnerships”. Organised by Dr Andy Hayward and Dr Jens M. Scherpe, this two-day event will bring together academics, policy-makers and practitioners from over 15 jurisdictions to analyse the future of registered partnership regimes. It will ask whether there is a continuing need for both opposite and same-sex registration regimes in an era where States are gradually opening up marriage to same-sex couples. Are these regimes necessary alternatives to marriage or do they act as a ‘stepping stone’ for the conferral of rights and responsibilities? The significant recent referendum in Ireland offers useful insights on these issues. Indeed, Dr Brian Tobin’s paper will examine the reasons why the Oireachtas proposes to discontinue the registration of civil partnerships in post-marriage equality Ireland.
This fully CPD accredited event will take place on Friday 10th – Saturday 11th July 2015 in the Faculty of Law, Cambridge with a conference dinner at Gonville & Caius College. Registration, booking details and further information are available at www.family2015.info.