民事伴侣关系法律认可的现状及其立法模式

在人类历史的长河中,民事伴侣的地位在不同的时代及不同的文化背景中虽有所不同,但总体而言是被禁止、被压制或被忽视的.然而,自20世纪末至今的短短不到20年的时间里,民事伴侣关系已在5个国家获得完全法律认可,在16个国家的全国范围内及6个国家的部分地区获得承认,民事伴侣平权运动取得了前所未有的进展.在5个法律认可民事伴侣关系的国家中,荷兰、比利时、西班牙及加拿大采用了婚姻式立法模式,即承认民事伴侣关系为婚姻关系,并适用婚姻法的相应规定.而英国则采用了伴侣式立法模式,即制定<民事伴侣关系法>以规制民事伴侣关系,从而创设了一种在形式上不同于异性配偶身份的新的民事伴侣法律身份.

Present Situation and Law Enactment Modes of Civil Partnership Legal Recognition

The position of civil partners differed greatly during different periods of history and in different cultures. Wholly speaking, civil partnership was either legally prohibited or ignored until to the end of last century around the world. This situation, however, has been undertaking great changes since 1990s. In last couple of years, same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in 5 countries, has been recognized nationwide in 16 nations, and in certain regions in 6 nations. Among the five nations legally recognized same-sex marriage or civil partnership, England has created a new civil partner legal identity by means of the enactment of Civil Partnership Act (2004), while Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Canada adopted the law enactment mode of marriage by means of the application of existing Marriage Acts to same-sex marriage.