Nullity of civil partnership

Information

Nullity of civil partnership is a declaration by a court that your supposed civil partnership is null and void, and that no valid civil partnership exists between you and your partner. In other words, it is a declaration that the supposed civil partnership never happened.

Nullity (or annulment) is not the same as dissolution. Dissolution is a declaration ending a valid civil partnership. Nullity is a declaration that a valid civil partnership never existed.

In nullity of marriage law, there are two types of marriages that may be annulled or cancelled. There are void marriages and there are voidable marriages. If your marriage is void, it is regarded as never having taken place. If your marriage is voidable, it is considered to be a valid marriage until a decree of annulment is made.

In nullity of civil partnership law, there are only void civil partnerships. This means the civil partnerships are regarded as never having taken place.

Technically, if your civil partnership never took place, then there is no need to go to court to obtain a decree of annulment - you may simply act as though the civil partnership never happened. However, it is advisable to obtain a court order declaring that your civil partnership is annulled in order to remove any doubt.

A decree of annulment can only be made if one of the parties to the civil partnership applies to the court for a decree of nullity. Any person whom the court believes has sufficient standing to do so may also apply. If the court decides that your civil partnership is void, it will then declare that your civil partnership never existed.

You can find out about the implications of a decree of nullity in our document on the consequences of an annulment of a civil partnership.