Section 50: Grounds on which civil partnership is voidable
96.This section sets out the grounds on which an application can be made in England or Wales for an order annulling a civil partnership on the grounds that it is voidable, where the parties registered as civil partners of each other in England and Wales. (The grounds on which the law of England and Wales will hold other civil partnerships to be voidable are set out in section 54.) The grounds are as follows:
Either of the civil partners did not validly consent to the formation of the civil partnership, through a mistake, through being put under duress or due to unsoundness of mind or otherwise.
At the time of the formation of the civil partnership either of the civil partners, although able to consent to the registration, was suffering from a mental disorder which made them unfitted for civil partnership.
At the time of the formation of the civil partnership one of the civil partners was pregnant (other than by the applicant, although that could only be relevant in a case involving a gender change under the Gender Recognition Act 2004). This is subject to section 51(6) which ensures that the court may not make a nullity order unless it is satisfied that the applicant did not know of the pregnancy at the time of the formation of the civil partnership. An application on this ground is subject to the 6 month time limit in section 51(5) (see below).
An interim gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 has been issued to either civil partner after the time of the formation of the civil partnership.
The respondent is a person whose gender at the time of the formation of the civil partnership had become the acquired gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This is subject to section 51(6) which ensures that the court may not make a nullity order unless it is satisfied that the applicant did not know at the time of the formation of the civil partnership that his or her partner had changed gender.
