Introduction

While not particularly complex or lengthy, the legislative changes in respect of the children of civil partners are critical to any statutory scheme which is intended to give the fullest possible recognition to every aspect of a civil partnership. Most importantly, the Act provides for a civil partner to acquire parental responsibility for a child, either by agreement or by court order. It also extends the statutory definition of ‘child of the family’ to include the children of a civil partnership. Civil partners are added to the class of persons who are entitled as of right to apply under the Children Act for residence and contact orders, and, as part of the significant changes brought about by the Adoption and Children Act 2002, civil partners may apply jointly for an adoption order.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is defined by section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 as ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property’.

Although there is no more detailed definition contained in the Children Act or preceding statutes, a substantial body of case law demonstrates that parental responsibility embraces many and varied aspects of a child's life, ranging from the power to appoint a guardian for the child by will, consenting to, or refusing, medical treatment for the child or choosing the child's school to determining the child's religious upbringing and naming the child.