Marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples : the international imperative

Within the single month of November 2004, Saskatchewan became the latest Canadian province to accept same-sex marriage,1 South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal held the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples to be unconstitutional,2 the United Kingdom became the latest European country to introduce civil partnerships as an institution for same-sex couples analogous to marriage,3 and the government of New Zealand presented a Bill to the New Zealand Parliament to do the same thing in that country.4 In the 15 years since Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce such an institution5 most jurisdictions in Western Europe and in Canada, and a handful of states in the United States of America, have followed Denmark’s innovation and some6 have opened up the institution of marriage itself to same-sex couples. The peculiarly North American debate whether civil partnership is a second-rate alternative to marriage as a means of achieving gay and lesbian equality has not been engaged with elsewhere in the world, and it will not be engaged with here. This article intends, rather, to explore the remarkable phenomenon that such a debate is today one of practical reality rather than hypothetical aspiration

Two by two, by two

Examines whether marriage should be opened to same sex couples in Scotland and legislatively how easy it would be to achieve. Notes the countries that have adopted same sex marriages, and highlights the European Court of Human Rights decision in Schalk v Austria (30141/04) on the right to marry. Considers whether adultery as a ground for divorce should be limited to heterosexual couples, and addresses the conducting of same sex marriage by religious officiants which may be contrary to their faith

Incest and the forbidden degrees of marriage in Scots law

Sexual intercourse between a person and certain close relatives will, in some circumstances, constitute the crime of incest in Scots law (The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976, s 2A, as inserted by the Incest and Related Offences (Scotland) Act 1986); a purported marriage between a person and certain other close relatives will have no effect and will be void (The Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977, s 2, Sched 1, as amended by the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act 1986). This article aims to examine the rules of law contained in these two provisions and, in particular, to analyse the justification for these rules. It is not to be questioned that all rules of law demand justification, and it is submitted that if a statutory rule has no justification it demands repeal. This article will argue that there is no justification for criminalising incest, and no justification for prohibiting marriage between parties within certain degrees of relationship

Sexual orientation and family law

On 29th March 2000 the Scottish Parliament passed its fifth piece of legislation, the Adults with Incapacities (Scotland) Act 2000. One small provision tucked away in this important legislation amends the definition of "nearest relative" in the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, in order to include within that phrase members of conjugal same-sex couples1. The relative obscurity of this provision must not hide its import, for this is the first time that legislation anywhere in the United Kingdom has expressly and intentionally given recognition, for civil law purposes, to the existence of same-sex family relationships

Is the gender recognition act 2004 as important as it seems?

This chapter looks asks is the gender recognition act 2004 as important as it seems

Legal regulation of adult domestic relationships

Returning to a theme featured in some of the earlier volumes in the Edinburgh Studies in Law series, this volume offers an in-depth study of 'mixed jurisdictions' ' legal systems which combine elements of the Anglo-American Common Law and the European Civil Law traditions. This new collection of essays compares key areas of private law in Scotland and Louisiana. In thirteen chapters, written by distinguished scholars on both sides of the Atlantic, it explores not only legal rules but also the reasons for the rules, discussing legal history, social and cultural factors, and the law in practice, in order to account for patterns of similarity and difference. Contributions are drawn from the Law Schools of Tulane University, Louisiana State University, Loyola University New Orleans, the American University Washington DC, and the Universities of Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Edinburgh.This title will be of interest to students of comparative law at senior undergraduate and postgraduate level, academics and researchers and also those who are interested in the mixed jurisdictions for the lessons they offer in the context of harmonisation of private law in Europe

Appellate deference in Scottish child protection cases

An examination of the different levels of appellate deference that requires to be shown by appeal courts to evaluative and outcome decisions of first instance tribunals, with particular reference to appeals from children's hearings to sheriffs

Civil partnership in Scotland 2004-2014, and beyond

History of civil partnership in Scotland: comparison with marriage. The coming of same-sex marriage and the future of civil partnershi

Recognition of overseas same-sex relationships in New Zealand

More than thirty jurisdictions across the (Western) world have, since Demark was the first to do so in 1989, created institutionalised means by which same-sex couples can have their personal relationships registered with the State and governed by legal rules, analogous to those applicable to opposite-sex couples through the far older institution that we call 'marriage'. New Zealand, a State with a strong perception of itself as an egalitarian and socially progressive country, did so with its Civil Union Act 2004, which came into force on 26 April 2005, together with a plethora of Amendment Acts bringing civil union partners within the parameters of existing legislation. These Acts are New Zealand's response to the radical but still fairly recent shift in social attitudes towards gay and lesbian people, and same-sex couples, which has accorded us the values of human dignity and equality before the law. This article suggests, however, that New Zealand law tolerates rather than celebrates this new ideal of social justice. It is argued that with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues, New Zealand is a country that follows rather than leads. Especially problematical is New Zealand's approach to recognition of overseas relationships

Parenthood and artificial reproduction : the dangers of inappropropriate medicalisation

An examination of the parenthood provisions in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Acts 1990 and 2008; a critique of their underlying assumptions; an analysis of the case law when biological fathers seek to be recognised as having a role in the upbringing of children living with same-sex female couples as mothers