THE DANISH REGISTERED PARTNERSHIP SWEDISH NORWEGIAN & ICELANDIC PARTNERS ACTS

WE MARGRETHE THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Denmark, do
make known that:-

The Danish Folketing has passed the following Act which has
received the Royal Assent:

1.- Two persons of the same sex may have their partnership
registered.

Registration
2.- (1) Part I, sections 12 and 13(1) and clause 1 of section
13(2) of the Danish Marriage (Formation and Dissolution) Act
shall apply similarly to the registration of partnerships, cf.
subsection 2 of this section.

(2) A partnership may only be registered provided both or one
of the parties has his permanent residence in Denmark and is of
Danish nationality.

(3) The rules governing the procedure of registration of a
partnership, including the examination of the conditions for
registration, shall be laid down by the Minister of Justice.

Legal Effects
3.- (1) Subject to the exceptions of section ^4, the registration
of a partnership shall have the same legal effects as the
contracting of marriage.

(2) The provisions of Danish law pertaining to marriage and
spouses shall apply similarly to registered partnership and
registered partners.

4.- (1) The provisions of the Danish Adoption Act regarding spouses
shall not apply to registered partners.

(2) Clause 3 of section 13 and section 15(3) of the Danish Legal
Incapacity and Guardianship Act regarding spouses shall not apply to
registered partners.

(3) Provisions of Danish law containing special rules pertaining to one
of the parties to a marriage determined by the sex of that person
shall not apply to registered partners.

(4) Provisions of international treaties shall not apply to registered
partnership unless the other contracting parties agree to such
application.

Dissolution
5.- (1) Parts 3, 4 and 5 of the Danish Marriage (Formation and
Dissolution) Act and Part 42 of the Danish Administration of Justice
Act shall apply similarly to the dissolution of a registered
partnership, cf. subsections 2 and 3 of this section.

(2) Section 46 of the Danish Marriage (Formation and Dissolution) Act
shall not apply to the dissolution of a registered partnership.

(3) Irrespective of section 448 c of the Danish Administration of
Justice Act a registered partnership may always be dissolved in this
country.

Commencement etc.
6.- This Act shall come into force on October 1, 1989,

7.- This Act shall not apply to the Faroe Islands nor to Greenland but
may be made applicable by Royal order to these parts of the country
with such modifications as are required by the special Faroese and
Greenlandic conditions.

Given at Christiansborg Castle, this seventh day of June, 1989

Under Our Royal Hand and Seal
MARGRETHE R


D/339 -H- ML Act No. 373 of June 1, 1989

ACT TO AMEND THE DANISH MARRIAGE (FORMATION AND DISSOLUTION) ACT, THE
INHERITANCE ACT, THE PENAL CODE AND THE INHERITANCB TAX ACT.
(Amendments resulting from the introduction of registered partnership).

WE MARGRETHE THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Denmark, do make
known that:-
The Danish Folketing has passed the following Act which has received
the Royal Assent:
1.- The Marriage (Formation and Dissolution) Act, cf.
Consolidated Act No. 630 of September 15, 1986, as amended by Act No.
223 of April 22, 1987, shall be amended as follows:-
1. Section 9 shall be worded as follows:
"9.- A person who has previously contracted marriage or who has
been a party to a registered partnership may not contract
marriage as long as the previous marriage or partnership exists."

2. Section 10 shall be worded as follows:
"1O .- A person who has been married or been a party to a
registered partnership may not contract marriage until division
of the joint property by the court has been initiated or such property
has been divided by the parties involved. This shall not apply if there
was complete separation of property between the parties or an exemption
from division of property is specially authorized.
The Minister of Justice may in special cases grant an exemption from
the provision of the first clause of this section.

2.- The inheritance Act, cf. consolidated Act No. 584 of
September 1, 1986 shall be amended as follows:-

Section 17(2) shall be worded as follows:
"(2) On remarriage or registration of partnership he shall be obliged
to divide the joint property. "

3.- The Penal Code, cf. Consolidated Act No. 607 of September 6, 1986,
as amended by Act No. 385 of June 10, 1987 shall be amended as follows:

1. Section 208(1) shall be worded as follows:
"Any person who purports to contract a registered partnership, and who
is already married or a party to a registered partnership shall be
liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding 3 years or, if the
other person was at the time ignorant of the existing marriage or
registered partnership, to imprisonment or any term not exceeding 6
years."

2. Section 208(3) shall be worded as follows:
"(3) Any person who without being married or being a party to a
registered partnership contracts marriage or becomes a party to a
registered partnership with a person who is already married or a party
to a registered partnership shall be liable to simple detention or
imprisonment for any term not exceeding one year."

3. Section 208(4) shall be worded as follows:
"(4) Where the purported marriage or registered partnership is not
voidable, the penalty in respect of the person who is already married
or a party to a registered partnership may always be reduced to simple
detention, and the person who is not married or a party to a registered partnership may be acquitted. "

4.- The inheritance Tax Act, cf. Consolidated Act No. 62 of
February 6, 1987, as amended by section 5 of Act No. 360 of July
1, 1988, shall be amended as follows:-

1. In section 2(1)(A)., (b) shall be repealed. (c) -(g) becomes (b)-(f)

2. In clause 2 of section 2(1)(A), "or b" shall be deleted.

3. In section 44(1) "(g)" shall be substituted for "(f)".

5.- (1) This act shall come into force on October 1, 1989.
(2) Section 4 of this Act shall take effect in relation to the
inheritance tax which becomes liable after the day of entry
into force of this Act.

Given at Christianborg Castle, this seventh day of June, 1989

Under Our Royal Hand and Seal

MARGRETHE R.

SWEDEN:

THE REGISTERED PARTNERSHIP ACT

Issued on 23 June 1994

In accordance with the decision of the Parliament the following is enacted:

Chapter 1
Registration of partnership

Section 1

Two persons of the same sex may request the registration of their partnership.

Section 2

Registration may only take place if at least one of the partners is a Swedish citizen, domiciled in Sweden.

Section 3

Registration may not take place in the case of a person who is under the age of 18 years or of persons who are related to one
another in the direct ascending or descending line or who are sisters or brothers of the whole blood.

Neither may registration take place in the case of sisters or brothers of the half blood without the permission of the
Government or such authority as is stipulated by the Government.

Registration may not take place in the case of a person who is married or already registered as a partner.

The right to register a partnership shall be determined according to Swedish law.

Section 4

Before registration takes place, inquiry shall be made as to whether there is any impediment to registration.

Section 5

The provisions of Chapter 3 and Chapter 15 of the Marriage Code applicable to the procedure for inquiries into impediments
to marriage shall apply correspondingly to this inquiry.

Section 6

Registration shall take place in the presence of witnesses.

Section 7

At the registration both partners shall be present at the same time. Each of them separately shall, in response to a question put
to them by the person conducting the registration, make it known that they consent to the registration. The person conducting
the registration shall thereafter declare that they are registered partners.

A registration is invalid if it has not taken place as indicated in the first paragraph or if the person conducting the registration
was not authorized to perform the registration.

A registration which is invalid under the second paragraph may be approved by the Government if there are extraordinary
reasons for such approval. The matter may only be considered on the application of one of the partners or, if either of them has
died, of the heirs of the deceased.

Section 8

Registration may be conducted by a legally qualified judge of a district court or a person appointed by a county administrative
board.

Section 9

In other respects the provisions of Chapter 4, Sections 5, 7 and 8, of the Marriage Code and regulations issued by the
Government apply to registration.

Decisions concerning registration may be appealed against in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 15 Sections 3 and 4
of the Marriage Code.

Chapter 1, Sections 4-9, of the Act concerning certain International Legal Relationships relating to Marriage and Guardianship
(1904:26 p. 1) apply to international circumstances relating to registration.

Chapter 2
Dissolution of registered partnership

Section 1

A registered partnership is dissolved by the death of one of the partners or by a court decision.

Section 2

The provisions of Chapter 5 of the Marriage Code apply correspondingly to issues concerning the dissolution of a registered
partnership.

Section 3

Cases concerning the dissolution of registered partnerships and cases involving proceedings to determine whether or not a
registered partnership subsists are partnership cases. Provisions stipulated by statute or other legislation relating to matrimonial
cases also apply to issues concerning partnership cases.

Section 4

Partnership cases may always be considered by a Swedish court if registration has taken place under this Act.

Chapter 3
Legal effects of registered partnership

Section 1

Registered partnership has the same legal effects as marriage, except as provided by Sections 2-4.

Provisions of a statute or other legislation related to marriage and spouses whall be applied in a corresponding manner to
registered partnerships and registered partners unless otherwise provided by the rules concerning exceptions contained in
Sections 2-4.

Section 2

Registered partners may neither jointly nor individually adopt children under Chapter 4 of the Code on Parents, Children and
Guardians. Nor may registered partners be appointed to jointly exercise custody of a minor in the capacity of specially
appointed guardians under Chapter 13, Section 8 of the Code on Parents, Children and Guardians.

The Insemination Act (1984:1140) and the Fertilization outside the Body Act (1988:711) do not apply to registered partners.

Section 3

Provisions applicable to spouses, the application of which involves special treatment of one spouse solely by reason of that
spouse's sex, do not apply to registered partners.

Section 4

The provisions of the Ordinance concerning Certain International Legal Relationships relating to Marriage, Adoption and
Guardianship (1931:429) do not apply to registered partnerships.

This Act enters into force on 1 January 1995.

On behalf of the Government
CARL BILDT
GUN HELLSVIK, Ministry of Justice


_________________________________________________________

NORWAY:-

 

Bill on Registered Partnerships

Section 1

Two persons of the same sex may register their partnership, with the legal consequences which follow from this Act.

Section 2

Chapter 1 of the Marriage Act, concerning the conditions for contracting a marriage, shall have corresponding application to
the registration of partnerships. No person may contract a partnership if a previously registered partnership or marriage exists.

Chapter 2 of the Marriage Act, on verification of compliance with conditions for marriage, and chapter 3 of the Marriage Act,
on contraction of a marriage and solemnization of a marriage, do not apply to the registration of a partnership.

A partnership may only be registered if one or both of the parties is domiciled in the realm and at least one of them has
Norwegian nationality.

Vaification of compliance with the conditions and the procedure for the registration of partnerships shall take place according
to rules laid down by the Ministry.

Section 3

Registration of partnerships has the same legal consequences as entering into marriage, with the exceptions mentioned in
section 4.

The provisions in Norwegian legislation dealing with marriage and spouses shall be applied correspondingly to registered
partnerships and registaed partners.

Section 4

The provisions of the Adoption Act concerning spouses shall not apply to registaed partnerships.

Section 5

Irrespective of the provision in section 419a of the Civil Procedure Act, actions concerning the dissolution of registard
partnerships that have been entered in this country may always be brought before a Norwegian court.

Section 6

The Act shall enter into force on a date to be decided by the King.

Section 7

From the date on which the Act enters into force, the following amendments to other Acts shall come into force:

1. The Penal Code, No. 10, of 22 May 1902 is amended as follows: Section 220 shall read:

Any person who enters into a marriage that is invalid pursuant to 3 or 4 of the Marriage Act, or who enters into a
partnership that is invalid pursuant to 2, first paragraph, of the Partnership Act, cf. 3 of the Marriage Act, or 2,
first paragraph, second sentence of the Partnership Act, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4
years. If the spouse or partner was not aware that the marriage or partnership had been entered into contary to
the above-mentoned provisions, he or she shall be liable to i nprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years.
Complicity shall be penalized in the same way.

Any person who causes or is accessory to causing a marriage or registered partnership that is invalid because of
the fomms used, to be entered into with any pa son who is not aware of its invalidity shall be liable to
imprisonment for a temm not exceeding 4 years.

Section 338 shall read:

Any person who enters into a marriage or partnership pursuant to the Act relating to registered partnership in
such a way as to set aside the provisions in force concerning the requirements for a valid marriage or the
requirements concerning the registration of a valid partnership, dispensation or other statutory conditions, or is
accessory thereto, shall be liable to fines.

2. The Marriage Act, No. 47, of 4 July 1991 is amended as follows: Section 4 shall read:

No person may contract a marriage if a previous marriage or registered partnership exists.

Section 7, first paragraph, litra e shall read:

e. Each of the parties to the marriage shall solemnly declare in writing whether he or she has previously
contracted a marriage or a registered partnership. If so, proof shall be presented that the earlier marriage or
registered partnership has been temminated by death or divorce, or has been dissolved pursuant to section 24.

Proof that the former spouse or registered partner is dead is, as a rule, presented in the fomm of a certificate
issued by a domestic or foreign public authority. If such a certificate cannot be obtained, the parties may submit
their information and evidence to the appropriate probate judge, cf. section 8, second cf. first paragraph, of the
Probate Act. If administration of the estate does not come under the jurisdiction of a Norwegian probate court,
the issue may be brought before the probate judge at the place where the fulfilment of the conditions for marriage
is verified. The probate court will by order decide whether the evidence shall be accepted. An interlocutory
appeal against the order may be made by the party against whom the decision is made. If the evidence is
accepted, the probate court shall notify the County Governor, who may make an interlocutory appeal against the
order.

Proof that the marriage or registered partnership has ended in divorce or been dissolved pursuant to section 24
may be given by presenting the licence or judgement duly certified to be final. The question whether a marriage
may be contracted in Norway on the basis of a foreign divorce shall be decided by the Ministry pursuant to the
provisions of section 4 of Act No. 38 of 2 June 1978.

Section 7, first paragraph, litra j, first paragraph shall read:

j. Each of the parties to the marriage shall provide a sponsor who shall solemnly declare that he or she knows the
said party, and shall state whether the said party has previously contracted a marriage or registered partnership
and whether the parties to the marriage are related to each other as mentioned in section 3.

Section 8, first, second and third paragraphs shall read:

Any person who has previously been married or has been a partner in a registered partnership must produce
proof that the estate of the parties to the previous marriage or registered partnership has been submitted to the
probate court for administration, or produce a declaration from the former spouse or former partner or heirs
stating that the estate is being divided out of court.

This does not apply if a declaration is presented from the previous spouse or partner stating that there wae no
assets in the marriage or registered partnership to be divided, or from the heirs of the deceased spouse or partner
stating that they consent to the survivor remaining in possession of the undivided estate.

If the previous marriage or registered partnership was dissolved in a way other than by death, and if more than
two years have elasped since it was dissolved, it is sufficient that the person who wishes to contract a new
marriage states that the estate was divided, or that there was nothing to divide between the spouses or partners.



"The Norwegian Act on Registered Partnerships for Homosexual Couples", The Ministry of Children and Family
Affairs, Oslo, Norway, April 1993.

__________________________________________________

ICELAND

1995-96
1065 years since founding the Parliament
120th legislative assembly

564th Bill
On the recognized partnership

1

Two persons of the same sex can contract a recognized partnership.

2

What is provided in the Part II of the Marriage Act on the legal prerequisites of marriage shall apply to this Act, as well.
However, see subsection 2. A recognized partnership can only be contracted if at least one of the parties is a citizen of Iceland
and is domiciled in Iceland.

3

Before a partnership is officially recognized, both parties are to certify that the prerequisites of such a partnership are fulfilled.
Part III of the Marriage Act regulates the certification. The Minister of Justice shall issue more precise instructions on the
certification.

4

The contracting of such partnerships are to be carried out by heads of a police district or their representatives with a juridical
education. Paragraps 21 - 26 of the Marriage Acts regulate how certificates are to be issued.

5

Persons living in a recognized partnership are to enjoy the same rights as those in a marriage with the exception of what is said
in subsection 6. What is said on marriage and legally married spouses in the legislation in force applies to the parties of a
partnership, too.

6

The subsections on adoption in the Marriage Act shall not apply to the parties of a partnersip. Regulations on who are entitled
to artificial conception shall not apply to the recognized partnership. What the law says on the sex of a legally wedded spouse
shall not apply to the recognized partnership. What is provided in the international agreements, signed by the Republic of
Iceland, shall not apply to the recognized partnership unless all parties to the agreement approve of it.

7

A recognized partnership is deemed having ended at the death of one of the partners, in the case of cancellation or divorce.

8

The regulations on cancellation, divorce and division of property in the Marriage Act shall apply to the recognized partnership,
however, with regard to subsections 2 and 3. Otherwise, what is regulated upon the end of a marriage and its legal entailments
shall apply to the partnership, too. Despite what is said in subsection 1 of Section 114, it is always possible to proceed with a
charge in an Icelandec court on the basis of Section 113, if the partnership has been recognized in Iceland. Despite what is
said in Subsection 1 of Section 123 of the Marriage Act, an Icelandic court is always entitled to solve issues pertaining to
partnerships recognized in this country.

9

These Acts are enacted on 1 July 1996.


Translation from Finnish to English is made by Mr. Mika Vepsalainen. This translation is made from the Finnish text,
translated from Icelandic by Steinunn Gudmundsdottir.

The original wording of the Act is using expression "confirmed living together", where "recognized partnership" is
used in this translation.

________________________________________

Source: and France QRD

http://www.france.qrd.org/fgrd/flgb.htm