Commentary on provisions of the Act Civil Partnership: dissolution and separation Section 4: Dissolution orders: time limits
This section amends sections 37 and 38 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and inserts a new section 37A.
	Subsection (2) omits subsection (2) of section 37 (the current provision stating that a dissolution, nullity or presumption of death order is at first a conditional order and may not be made final before the end of the prescribed period set out in section 38).
	Subsection (3) inserts new section 37A, which reflects the amendments to the Matrimonial Causes Act made by section 1 and provides that every dissolution order is at first a conditional order and may not be made final before the end of 6 weeks from the making of the conditional order. It also provides for the minimum time periods between stages and provides a power for the Lord Chancellor to amend these minimum time periods in a way that reflects the timeframes and Lord Chancellor power set out for divorce in section 1 of this Act.
	Subsection (4) amends section 38 (which deals with nullity and presumption of death orders) to insert a new subsection (A1) which provides for each such order to be conditional in the first instance and not to be made final before the end of the prescribed period.