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, Czech Republic and Switzerland. The same concept under slight different terminology can also be found in Germany, Hungary 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.
In Finland, law on registered partnership came into force on 1 March 2002, having been approved by the Parliament in September 2001.
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 sometimes restricted under registered partnerships. Same-sex couples were given equal rights of joint adoption in Sweden in 2005, UK, Belgium and Iceland in 2006, Denmark and Norway in 2009.
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 Denmark, Iceland and Finland will soon be granted the right to marry within the next 5 years. Sweden and Norway currently allow both same-sex marriage and full joint adoption. While nearly all Scandinavian countries allow full joint adoption, Finland is the only Scandinavian country which does not allow full joint adoption, however Finland just recently legally allowed same-sex couples to adopt the biological child of their own [9].
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.
See also
External links
Stonewall.org.uk - Countries that recognise or proposed to recognise same-sex relationships
Recent book by Darren Spedale and William Eskridge, Jr. on the Scandinavian Registered Partnership laws: [10]
Recent article by Darren Spedale, William Eskridge, Jr. and Hans Ytterberg on the effect of the Registered Partnership Laws on society: [11]
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: [12]
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