For some couples, getting married under the Marriages Act here in South Africa isn’t necessarily first prize. And for some couples, it’s not even a legal possibility. That’s where the option of a Civil Union comes in.
In terms of the rights and responsibilities of both partners, there are actually no differences between a marriage and a civil union. The Civil Union Act, which came into effect in 2006, was passed to address the gaping hole created by the Marriages Act - which provided for (and still only provides for) the marriage between a man and a woman.
The Civil Union Act allows any two people – regardless of their gender or sexual orientation – to marry each other through a Civil Union.
“Civil union” means the voluntary union of two persons who are both 18 years of age or older, which is solemnised and registered by way of either a marriage or a civil partnership, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this Act, to the exclusion, while it lasts, of all others.
“Civil union partner” means a spouse in a marriage or a partner in a civil partnership, as the case may be, concluded in terms of this Act; therefore, a heterosexual couple (a man and a woman) may enter into either a marriage or a civil partnership. A non-heterosexual couple may only enter into a civil partnership.