ABSTRACT
Following a series of judgments and legislative amendments which gradually extended the legal rights of same-sex couples, South Africa became the first country outside Europe and North America to adopt legislation permitting same-sex couples to enter into marriage or a union akin to marriage (civil union). This legislation, known as the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006, mirrors the legal requirements and consequences of heterosexual marriage, as governed by the Marriage Act 25 of 1961, for same-sex marriage/union. Couples who marry under the Civil Union Act can choose to have their relationships registered as either marriages or civil unions and can thereby share in the social and symbolic value associated with marriage. Civil unions can be concluded by either samesex couples or opposite-sex couples, while marriages can only be concluded by opposite-sex couples. In this chapter we will refer to the heterosexual institution as marriage and the same-sex institution as civil unions.1
