The year, 2024, marks the twentieth anniversary of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA) and the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA). Representing two of the most consequential family law reforms since the turn of the 21st century, the CPA and GRA redefined the status of same-sex couples and trans adults. Over the past two decades, these laws have heavily influenced how judges, lawmakers and the general public understand intimate relationships and ideas of gender, and they have precipitated significant change in child and adult relationships laws both inside and outside the UK.
Although passed in the same calendar year, the CPA and the GRA are notable for the different contexts in which each law was introduced and the contrasting trajectories that they have taken since 2004. While the GRA was heralded as a paradigm shift for trans people and their families, the CPA was the result of a political compromise, and was initially critiqued by some observers for enshrining the second-class status of same-sex relationships. Conversely, while the GRA has largely stagnated during the last twenty years and has more recently become the object of political and constitutional debate, the CPA has served as the catalyst for both same-sex marriage and the creation of new formalised relationship options for different-sex couples.
As the twentieth anniversary of the CPA and GRA approaches, on 22 February 2024, we are organising a one-day in-person and online conference at City Law School, University of London, to analyse both laws in their wider legal, historical and social contexts, and to explore the inter-relationship and potential inter-dependence of these statutes. The conference will bring together scholars from across the United Kingdom and Ireland to address the diverging histories, contentious presents and uncertain futures of these landmark statutes. The event has been made possible through a generous grant from the Subject Sections Fund of the Society of Legal Scholars (Family Law Section).
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The City Law School, Society of Legal Scholars
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2moCongrats, to Jeannette Boot -- and on behalf of all the WilmerHale attorneys representing #probono clients referred by Sanctuary for Families, and the attorneys and staff who volunteer at their #corporatesocialresponsibility events, thank you for strengthening our bonds with such an incredible organization!