2. The Registered Partnership Act
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17. The Registered Partnership Act, Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) vol. I, no. 135/2009, entered into force on 1 January 2010. Its section 2 provides as follows: “A registered partnership may be formed ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ by two persons ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the same sex (registered partners). They thereby commit themselves to a lasting relationship with mutual rights and obligations.“
18. The rules on the establishment ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ registered partnership, its effects and its dissolution resemble the rules governing marriage.
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21. The reasons for dissolution ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ registered partnership are the same as for dissolution ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ marriage or divorce. Dissolution ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ a registered partnership occurs in the event ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the death ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ one partner (section 13). It may also be pronounced by a judicial decision on various other grounds: lack ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ intent to establish a registered partnership (section 14), fault ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ one or both partners, or breakdown ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the partnership due to irreconcilable differences (section 15).
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25. The relevant part ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the Commentary ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the Charter states as follows:
“Modern trends and developments in the domestic laws in a number ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ countries toward greater openness and acceptance ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ same-sex couples notwithstanding, a few states still have public policies and/or regulations that explicitly forbid the notion that same-sex couples have the right to marry. At present there is very limited legal recognition ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ same-sex relationships in the sense that marriage is not available to same-sex couples. The domestic laws ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the majority ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ states presuppose, in other words, that the intending spouses are ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ different sexes. Nevertheless, in a few countries, e.g., in the Netherlands and in Belgium, marriage between people ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the same sex is legally recognized. Others, like the Nordic countries, have endorsed a registered partnership legislation, which implies, among other things, that most provisions concerning marriage, i.e. its legal consequences such as property distribution, rights ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ inheritance, etc., are also applicable to these unions. At the same time it is important to point out that the name ‘registered partnership’ has intentionally been chosen not to confuse it with marriage and it has been established as an alternative method ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ recognizing personal relationships. This new institution is, consequently, as a rule ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ accessible to couples who cannot marry, and the same-sex partnership does not have the same status and the same benefits as marriage. (...)
In order to take into account the diversity ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ domestic regulations on marriage, Article 9 ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the Charter refers to domestic legislation. As it appears from its formulation, the provision is broader in its scope than the corresponding articles in other international instruments. Since there is no explicit reference to ‘men and women’ as the case is in other human rights instruments, it may be argued that there is no obstacle to recognize same-sex relationships in the context ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ marriage. There is, however, no explicit requirement that domestic laws should facilitate such marriages. International courts and committees have so far hesitated to extend the application ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the right to marry to same-sex couples. (...)”
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31. The legal consequences ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ registered partnership vary from almost equivalent to marriage to giving relatively limited rights. Among the legal consequences ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ registered partnerships, three main categories can be distinguished: material consequences, parental consequences and other consequences.
32. Material consequences cover the impact ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ registered partnership on different kinds ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ tax, health insurance, social security payments and pensions. In most ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ the States concerned registered partners obtain a status similar to marriage. This also applies to other material consequences, such as regulations on joint property and debt, application ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ rules ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ alimony upon break-up, entitlement to compensation on wrongful death ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ partner and inheritance rights.