Civil Partnerships Twenty Years Later: From an incremental step towards (marriage) equality to a giant leap away from it? A cautionary tale from a UK overseas territory

Barker, Nicola ORCID: 0000-0003-4223-713X (2025) Civil Partnerships Twenty Years Later: From an incremental step towards (marriage) equality to a giant leap away from it? A cautionary tale from a UK overseas territory JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW, 47 (1). pp. 49-68. ISSN 0964-9069, 1469-9621

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Abstract

In the two decades since their introduction in the UK civil partnerships have evolved, with the introduction of same-sex marriage and their expansion to heterosexuals, into an alternative to marriage. However, recent events suggest another, more problematic, evolution in how civil partnership provisions may be used. Bermuda’s Domestic Partnership Act 2018 introduced domestic partnerships as a regression away from (marriage) equality. In this article, I first set out the status of same-sex relationship recognition in the UK Overseas Territories generally. I then argue that the revocation of same-sex marriage in Bermuda was a violation of Article 12, read alone or in conjunction with Article 14, of the European Convention on Human Rights. I explain why the UK Government’s position that the simultaneous introduction of domestic partnerships satisfies their Convention obligations is wrong. I argue that the criticisms of civil partnerships as a second-class, discriminatory, provision, made by some when they were introduced in the UK in 2004, are magnified in a context where equality had existed and was deliberately removed. I conclude by reflecting on the wider significance of the UK Government’s argument that it is free to revoke same-sex marriage at will.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Civil partnership, same-sex marriage, ECHR, UK overseas territories, Bermuda
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2025 08:48
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 20:10
DOI:	10.1080/09649069.2025.2499386
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3191135
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