4. (1) Section 110 of the Act of 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) For the purposes of this section—

(a) civil partners who live in the same dwelling as one another shall be considered as living apart from one another if the court is satisfied that, while so living in the same dwelling, the civil partners do not live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship, and

(b) a relationship does not cease to be an intimate relationship merely because it is no longer sexual in nature.”.

(2) Section 172(6) of the Act of 2010 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of “where the relationship concerned ends before the coming into operation of section 4(2) of the Family Law Act 2019, an adult who” for “an adult who”, and

(b) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “lived apart (which term shall, in this section, be construed in accordance with section 5(1A) of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996)” for “lived apart”.

(3) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply to proceedings for the grant of a decree of dissolution under the Act of 2010—

(a) that are instituted on or after the date this section comes into operation, or

(b) that have been instituted, and have not been concluded, prior to such date.

(4) In this section, “Act of 2010” means the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.