Explanatory note

This Order amends the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”). Article 2(2) amends section 210(1)(b) of the 2004 Act to remove the restriction that civil partnerships may only be registered in the presence of a prescribed officer of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service. The new section 210(1)(b) permits registration to be carried out before a registration officer and Article 2(3) amends section 210(3) of the 2004 Act to reflect this change.

Article 2(4) of the Order amends section 210 of the 2004 Act to add a definition of “registration officer”, which encompasses consular officers and authorised individuals in countries in which the United Kingdom has no consular representative.

An impact assessment has been prepared in respect of this Order and may be obtained from Consular Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AH. It is also annexed to the explanatory document which is available alongside this Order on the OPSI website.