4.—(1) Section 212 of the 2004 Act (meaning of “overseas relationship”)(1) applies for the purpose of determining whether a relationship between persons of different sexes entered into before 1 February 2021(2) is an overseas relationship as though for subsection (1)(b)(ii) there were substituted—
“(ii)neither of whom was already a civil partner or lawfully married on the date the relationship concerned was entered into, and
(iii)neither of whom was a civil partner or lawfully married—
(aa)immediately before 1 February 2021, or
(bb)in the case of a relationship that was dissolved or annulled before that date, immediately before the date of dissolution or annulment.”.
(2) Paragraph (1) has effect in place of article 3 of the Civil Partnership (Overseas Relationships) (Scotland) Order 2005(3) in relation to any case where a relationship referred to in that paragraph was entered into before 5 December 2005.
Section 212 is amended by section 2(2) of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 and is modified in its application to overseas relationships entered into before 5 December 2005 by S.S.I. 2005/573.
1 February 2021 is the date on which section 3 of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 comes into force, in accordance with regulation 2 of S.S.I. 2020/414.