General Article Marriage and Partnership: legislative landmarks

This article is 10 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

1970

People who have undergone gender reassignment surgery are not allowed to marry.

 

1982

‘Forced’ marriages are declared to be against the law where either the husband or wife has been forced to get married against their will, and has been placed under significant physical or emotional pressure to do so.

 

2002

The ban on marriages of transsexuals is challenged unsuccessfully at the European Court of Human Rights.

 

2004

English law changes to allow those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery to have their new identities recognised by law. This means they can now lawfully get married.

 

2004

The law changes to allow same-sex couples to register their relationships with the State from December 2005. This means that they will receive almost exactly the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples when they get married.

 

2005

The Home Office declares that forced marriages are a form of domestic violence and an abuse of human rights.

 

2006

Th...

Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?

Sign up now for a no obligation FREE TRIAL and view the entire collection