The two instruments that we are discussing relate to the introduction of same-sex marriage in Scotland.
The first instrument is about changing civil partnerships into marriages. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 contains two ways for persons in a civil partnership registered in Scotland to change their relationship into a marriage. Section 8 of the act allows couples to make the change through a marriage ceremony. The alternative is an administrative route laid down by regulations made under section 10—and those are the first regulations that we are discussing today.
The Marriage Between Civil Partners (Procedure for Change and Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 provide that couples in a qualifying civil partnership will be able to apply to any district registrar in Scotland to make the change. Those couples are, first, those who have registered their civil partnership in Scotland and, secondly, those who have registered their civil partnership through United Kingdom consuls or UK armed forces overseas and who have elected Scotland as the relevant part of the UK.
Couples must present together in the registration district where they want their marriage to be registered and to provide an application form that has been completed but has not yet been signed; their civil partnership extract—in other words, their certificate; and any forms of identification requested by the district registrar. The registrar general will provide guidance to registrars on what type of identification will be acceptable.
The district registrar will change the civil partnership into a marriage if satisfied with the information provided. For couples who register their civil partnership before same-sex marriage is available in Scotland, the change into marriage through the administrative route will be free for the first year. Should the couple wish to receive a marriage certificate, there will be a £10 fee for each certificate in line with the usual charge in Scotland for such certificates.
The second SSI is on the jurisdiction of the courts. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) (Jurisdiction and Recognition of Judgments) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 make provision on when Scottish courts have jurisdiction in relation to proceedings for divorce, separation and nullity of marriage; on when Scottish courts have jurisdiction in relation to proceedings on the recognition of decrees from outwith the European Union concerning such matters; and on Scottish courts recognising judgments from elsewhere in the EU on matters such as divorce, separation and nullity of marriage. They follow similar regulations made at the time that civil partnerships were introduced.
The regulations make provision similar to that contained in European regulation EC 2201/2003, commonly known as Brussels IIa, which deals with court jurisdiction and the mutual recognition of judgments in relation to matrimonial matters within most EU member states. It is generally accepted that Brussels IIa does not extend to cases involving same-sex couples, which is why we need to make the new regulations.
I am happy to take questions on both instruments.