Registered partnership

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Notes

KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.

* Not yet in effect

Registered partnership is one of several terms synonymous with a civil union or civil partnership similar to marriage, typically created in order to provide same-sex couples the legal and social benefits of traditional marriage and thus could be described as quasi marriages. The term is used in the Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands, the US state of California and Switzerland. The same concept under slight different terminology can also be found in Germany and the United Kingdom. Denmark was the first country in the world to offer registered partnerships to same-sex couples, beginning on June 7, 1989. The first union created under this new law took place on October 1, 1989 between Axel and Eigil Axgil.

Registered partnerships in these countries are nearly equal to marriage. The Scandinavian registered partnership laws are short, and basically state that, wherever the word "marriage" or "spouse" appears in the country's laws, it will also be construed to mean "registered partnership" or "registered partner", respectively. However, certain rights of adoption (i.e., of foreign-born adoptees) and of a church ceremony are restricted under registered partnerships. In Sweden, however, same-sex couples were given all the rights of adoption in 2005. Iceland will legalize adoption as well by the end of 2006. Norway allows adoption of a registered partner's children only.

The main argument against registered partnership is that it creates a situation of separate but equal, called "marriage apartheid" by some. Others claim that these partnerships allow same-sex marriage by another name.

It is expected that same-sex couples in Scandinavia, Iceland, and Finland will soon be granted the right to marry, perhaps as early as 2007 in Sweden.[1]

In other places, registered partnerships have been instituted by municipalities in recognition of same-sex relationships. These partnerships are often merely nominal, conferring few actual benefits or obligations.

External links

Recent book by Darren Spedale and William Eskridge, Jr. on the Scandinavian Registered Partnership laws: [2]

Recent article by Darren Spedale, William Eskridge, Jr. and Hans Ytterberg on the effect of the Registered Partnership Laws on society: [3]

Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples, list of municipalities in the United States and some other countries where same-sex couples can register: [4]