Civil unions in Germany
Encyclopedia : C : CI : CIV : Civil unions in Germany
| Same-sex unions |
| Recognized nationwide in: |
| Denmark (1989) |
| Israel1 (1994) |
| Greenland (1996) |
| Iceland (1996) |
| South Africa (1999) |
| Portugal (2001) |
| Croatia (2003) |
| New Zealand (2005) |
| Andorra (2005) |
| Slovenia (2006) |
| Was recognized before legalization of same-sex marriage in: |
| Netherlands (nationwide) (1998) |
| Spain (12 of 14 communities) (1998) |
| Belgium (nationwide) (2000) |
| Canada (QC and NS)2 (2000) |
| Recognized in some regions in: |
| Argentina (Buenos Aires, Rio Negro) (2003) |
| Australia (Tasmania, ACT) (2004) |
| Italy (10 regions) (2004) |
| Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) (2004) |
| United States(10 states) (1997) |
| Recognition debated in: |
| Austria |
| Chile |
| Greece |
| Ireland |
| Liechtenstein |
| Poland |
| Notes: |
| 1 - In form of common-law marriage. |
| 2 - Explicitly referred to as "civil unions" in Civil unions in Quebec>Quebec (2002), Nova Scotia (2001), and Manitoba (2002), common-law marriage extended to same-sex partners nationwide (2000). |
| See also |
| Same-sex marriage |
| Registered partnership |
| Domestic partnership |
| Common-law marriage |
| Homosexuality laws of the world |
| [Edit this box] |
Volker Beck, a member of the Green Party caucus of the Bundestag, is called "Father of the German Registered Partnership Act".
On 17 July, 2002, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany upheld enacted act). The Court found, unanimously, that the process leading to the law's enactment was constitutional. The 8-member Court further ruled, with three dissenting votes, that the substance of the law conforms to the Grundgesetz, and ruled that these partnerships could be granted equal rights to those given to married couples. (The initial law had deliberately withheld certain privileges, such as joint adoption and pension rights for widow(er)s, in an effort to observe the "special protection" which the constitution provided for marriage and the family. The court determined that the "specialness" of the protection was not in the quantity of protection, but in the obligatory nature of this protection, whereas the protection of registered partnerships was at the Bundestag's discretion.)
On 12 October, 2004, the Gesetz zur Überarbeitung des Lebenspartnerschaftsrechts (Life Partnership Law (Revision) Act) was passed by the Bundestag, increasing the rights of registered life partners to include, among other things, the possibility of stepchild adoption and simpler alimony and divorce rules, but excluding the same tax benefits as in a marriage. By October 2004, 5,000 couples had registered their partnerships.[link]
See also
External links
- [Lifetime Partnership Act of Germany]
- [Decriminalization of Homosexuality and Its Effects on Family Rights: A German-US-American Comparison] in the German Law Journal (in English)
- [The position of German Christian denominations] as regards blessings and marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples (in German)
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