Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Civil Partnership: England and Wales.Introduction Chapter 2 – Dissolution, Nullity and Other Proceedings Section 49: Grounds on which civil partnership is void
92.This section sets out the grounds on which a civil partnership will be void (in other words invalid) under the law of England and Wales, where the parties registered as civil partners of each other in England and Wales. (The grounds on which the law of England and Wales will hold civil partnerships formed outside England and Wales to be void are set out in section 54.) A civil partnership that is void may be annulled by an order of the court under section 37.
93.Paragraph (a) provides that the civil partnership will be void if, at the time when the two people registered as civil partners in England and Wales, they were not eligible to register as civil partners of each other under the requirements set out in section 3.
94.Paragraph (b) lists the breaches of formal requirements which will render the civil partnership void, if both civil partners were aware of the breach at the time of the registration. These are failure to give the required notice of proposed civil partnership, the civil partnership document not being duly issued or having expired, the place of registration not being the place specified in the notice(s) of proposed civil partnership and the civil partnership document, or a civil partnership registrar not being present at the registration.
95.Paragraph (c) provides that the civil partnership will be void if the civil partnership document is void because one of the intended civil partners is a child (under the age of 18) and the issue of the civil partnership document has been forbidden by a person whose consent is required for the child to form a civil partnership.