Civil Union Act 2004

Civil Union Act 2004
New Zealand Parliament
Enacted by House of Representatives
Date passed 9 December 2004
Date of Royal Assent 13 December 2004
Date commenced 26 April 2005
Administered by Ministry of Justice
Legislative history
Bill Civil Union Bill
Bill published on 21 June 2004
Introduced by David Benson-Pope
First reading 24 June 2004
Second reading 2 December 2004
Third reading 9 December 2004
Amendments
Civil Union Amendment Act 2007
Related legislation
Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005
Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2005
Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013
Status: Current legislation

The Civil Union Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed into law on Thursday 9 December 2004 by a final vote of 65-55 in the Parliament of New Zealand.[1] The Act makes it legal for those in same-sex as well as heterosexual relationships to enter into a civil-union.

The act was opposed by religious groups, including the Catholic Church. Then New Zealand National Party leader Don Brash opposed the bill, but only as he believed it should be put to a referendum. The Act was widely supported by the then-governing New Zealand Labour Party.[2]

It is administered by the Ministry of Justice and is under the jurisdiction of the Family Court.

The Civil Union Act 2004 is still in force, despite New Zealand providing same-sex marriages since 19 August 2013, under the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013.

See also

References

  1. Civil Union Bill Passed, The New Zealand Herald, 9 December 2004
  2. MPs vote 65-55 in favour of Civil Union Bill, The New Zealand Herald, 2 December 2004

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, August 28, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.