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Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013

Overview of the structure of the Act

14.The Act is largely an amending Act, making amendments to various pieces of primary legislation including:

  • the Marriage Act 1949,

  • the Equality Act 2010,

  • the Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970,

  • the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973,

  • the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973,

  • the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992,

  • the Pension Schemes Act 1993,

  • the Civil Partnership Act 2004,

  • the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

15.The Act consists of 21 sections and 7 schedules arranged as follows:

  • Part 1 (sections 1-11) (Marriage of same sex couples in England and Wales) contains the main provisions of the Act relating to marriage of same sex couples and Schedules 1 to 4 contain consequential and interpretative provisions relating to Part 1.

  • Part 2 (sections 12-16) (Other provisions relating to marriage and civil partnership) deal with the change of legal gender of a married person or civil partner and marriage overseas (as do Schedules 5 and 6) and with the reviews of marriage by belief organisations, of the operation and future of the Civil Partnership Act in England and Wales and of survivor benefits under occupational pension schemes.

  • Part 3 (sections 17-21) (Final provisions) and Schedule 7 contain the standard technical provisions of the Act, including order-making powers and procedures, interpretation, extent and commencement.

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

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