Roger Kay, The Boundaries of Legal Recognition of Personal Partnerships: Where and Why?

The subject of this lecture is the Civil Partnership Act 2004, which broadly gives similar rights to same sex couples who register their relationship as those enjoyed by married couples. After considering the Act in the context of other legislation regulating specific personal relationships, it discusses the reasons why Parliament legislated on this issue and also questions whether or not the rights and duties given to same sex couples by the Act are appropriate. In particular, it seeks to establish if a coherent policy underpinned the legislation.