United Kingdom Statutory Instruments

(a) the power to order that payments under the order be made directly to the collecting officer;

(b) the power to order that payments under the order be made to the collecting officer, by such method of payment falling within Article 85(7) (standing order, etc) as may be specified;

(c) the power to make an attachment of earnings order under Part IX to secure payments under the order.

    (8D) In deciding which of the powers under paragraph (8C) is to be exercised, the court or, as the case may be, a resident magistrate shall have regard to any representations made by the debtor (within the meaning of Article 85).

    (8E) Paragraph (5) of Article 85 (power of court to require debtor to open account) shall apply for the purposes of paragraph (8C) as it applies for the purposes of that Article but as if for sub-paragraph (a) there were substituted—

" (a) the court proposes to exercise its power under sub-paragraph (b) of Article 98(8C), and"."

    (5) The magistrates' court by which an order is enforceable by virtue of this section, and the officers thereof, shall take all such steps for enforcing or facilitating the enforcement of the order as may be prescribed.

    (6) In any proceedings for or with respect to the enforcement of an order which is for the time being registered in any court under this Part of this Act a certificate of arrears sent to the prescribed officer of the court shall be evidence of the facts stated therein.

    (7) Sums of money payable under a registered order shall be payable in accordance with the order as from the date on which the order was made.

    (8) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) subsections (2) to (5) shall be omitted; and

(b) in subsection (6), for the word "evidence" there shall be substituted the words "sufficient evidence".

Variation and revocation of maintenance order registered in United Kingdom Court
     9. —(1) Where a registered order has been varied by a court in the United States of America, the registered order shall, as from the date on which the order of variation took effect or 1st October 2007, whichever is the later, have effect as varied by that order.

    (2) Where a registered order has been revoked by a court in the United States of America, the registered order shall, as from the date on which the order of revocation took effect or 1st October 2007, whichever is the later, be deemed to have ceased to have effect.

    (3) Where an order has been varied or revoked in accordance with subsections (1) and (2), above, unless provided for in the order, any arrears due shall continue to be recoverable as if the order for variation or revocation had not been made.

    (4) The prescribed officer of the registering court shall register in the prescribed manner any order varying a registered order.

Cancellation of registration and transfer of order
     10. —(1) Where a registered order is revoked by an order made by a court in the United States of America and notice of the revocation is received by the registering court, the prescribed officer of the registering court shall cancel the registration; but any arrears due under the registered order at the date on which the order of revocation took effect, shall continue to be recoverable as if the registration had not been cancelled.

    (2) Where the prescribed officer of the registering court is of opinion that the payer under a registered order is not residing within the jurisdiction of that court and has no assets within that jurisdiction against which the order can be effectively enforced, he shall cancel the registration of the order and, subject to subsection (3) below, shall send the certified copy of the order to the Lord Chancellor.

    (3) Where the prescribed officer of the registering court, being a magistrates' court, is of opinion that the payer is residing or has assets within the jurisdiction of another magistrates' court in that part of the United Kingdom in which the registering court is, he shall transfer the order to that other court by sending the certified copy of the order to the prescribed officer of that other court.

    (4) On the transfer of an order under subsection (3) above the prescribed officer of the court to which it is transferred shall, subject to subsection (6) below, register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.

    (5) Where the certified copy of an order is received by the Lord Chancellor under this section and it appears to him that the payer under the order is residing or has assets in the United Kingdom, he shall transfer the order to the appropriate court by sending the certified copy of the order together with the related documents to the prescribed officer of the appropriate court and, subject to subsection (6) below, that officer shall register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.

    (6) Before registering an order in pursuance of subsection (4) or (5) above an officer of a court shall take such steps as he thinks fit for the purpose of ascertaining whether the payer is residing or has assets within the jurisdiction of the court, and if after taking those steps he is satisfied that the payer is not residing and has no assets within the jurisdiction of the court he shall send the certified copy of the order to the Lord Chancellor.

    (7) The officer of a court who is required by any of the foregoing provisions of this section to send to the Lord Chancellor or to the prescribed officer of another court the certified copy of an order shall send with that copy—

(a) a certificate of arrears signed by him or, in Scotland, by the applicant or his solicitor;

(b) a statement giving such information as he possesses as to the whereabouts of the payer and the nature and location of his assets; and

(c) any relevant documents in his possession relating to the case.

    (8) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) in subsection (2), for the words "within the jurisdiction of that court" there shall be substituted the words "in Scotland";

(b) subsections (3) and (4) shall be omitted; and

(c) for the words "Lord Chancellor", in each place where they occur, there shall be substituted the words "Scottish Ministers"; and, for "him" and "he", "them" and "they".

Steps to be taken by Lord Chancellor or Scottish Ministers where payer under certain orders us not residing in United Kingdom
     11. —(1) If at any time it appears to the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers that the payer under a maintenance order, a certified copy of which has been received by him from the United States of America, is not residing and has no assets in the United Kingdom, he (or they) shall send to the responsible authority in the United States of America or, if having regard to all the circumstances he thinks (or they think) it proper to do so, to the responsible authority in another reciprocating country—

(a) the certified copy of the order in question and a certified copy of any order varying that order;

(b) if the order has at any time been a registered order, a certificate of arrears signed by the prescribed officer or, in Scotland, by the applicant or his solicitor;

(c) a statement giving such information as the Lord Chancellor possesses, or the Scottish Ministers possess, as to the whereabouts of the payer and the nature and location of his assets; and

(d) any other relevant documents in his (or their) possession relating to the case.

    (2) Where the documents mentioned in subsection (1) are sent to the responsible authority in a reciprocating country other than that in which the order in question was made, the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers shall inform the responsible authority in the reciprocating country in which that order was made of what he has (or they have) done.

(a) a document, duly authenticated, which purports to set out or summarise evidence given in proceedings in a court in the United States of America; or

(b) a document, duly authenticated, which purports to set out or summarise evidence taken in the United States of America for the purpose of proceedings in a court in the United Kingdom under this Part of this Act, whether in response to a request made by such a court or otherwise; or

(c) a document, duly authenticated, which purports to have been received in evidence in proceedings in a court in the United States of America or to be a copy of a document so received,

shall in any proceedings in a court in the United Kingdom relating to a maintenance order to which this Part of this Act applies be admissible as evidence of any fact stated therein to the same extent as oral evidence of that fact is admissible in those proceedings.

    (2) A document purporting to set out or summarise evidence given as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above, or taken as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above, shall be deemed to be duly authenticated for the purposes of that subsection if the document purports to be certified by the judge, magistrate or other person before whom the evidence was given, or, as the case may be, by whom it was taken, to be the original document containing or recording, or, as the case may be, summarising, that evidence or a true copy of that document.

    (3) A document purporting to have been received in evidence as mentioned in subsection (1)(c) above, or to be a copy of a document so received, shall be deemed to be duly authenticated for the purposes of that subsection if the document purports to be certified by a judge, magistrate or other person before whom the evidence was given to have been, or to be, a true copy of a document which has been, so received.

    (4) It shall not be necessary in any such proceedings to prove the signature or official position of the person appearing to have given such a certificate.

    (5) Nothing in this section shall prejudice the admission in evidence of any document which is admissible in evidence apart from this section.

Obtaining of evidence needed for purpose of certain proceedings
     14. —(1) Where for the purpose of any proceedings in a court in the United States of America relating to a maintenance order to which this Part of this Act applies a request is made by or on behalf of that court for the taking in the United Kingdom of the evidence of a person residing therein relating to matters specified in the request, such court in the United Kingdom as may be prescribed shall have power to take that evidence and, after giving notice of the time and place at which the evidence is to be taken to such persons and in such manner as it thinks fit, shall take the evidence in such manner as may be prescribed.

Evidence taken in compliance with such a request shall be sent by the prescribed officer of the court—

(a) in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, to the Lord Chancellor; or

(b) in Scotland, to the Scottish Ministers,

for transmission to the responsible authority in the United States of America.

    (2) Where any person, not being the payer or the payee under the maintenance order to which the proceedings in question relate, is required by virtue of this section to give evidence before a court in the United Kingdom, the court may order that there shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament such sums as appear to the court reasonably sufficient to compensate that person for the expense, trouble or loss of time properly incurred in or incidental to his attendance.

    (3) Section 97(1), (3) and (4) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (which provide for compelling the attendance of witnesses, etc) shall apply in relation to a magistrates' court having power under subsection (1) above to take the evidence of any person as if the proceedings in the court in the United States of America for the purpose of which a request for the taking of the evidence has been made were proceedings in the magistrates' court and had been begun by complaint.

    (4) Paragraphs 71 and 73 of Schedule 1 to the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1907 (which provide for the citation of witnesses, etc) shall apply in relation to a sheriff having power under subsection (1) above to take the evidence of any person as if the proceedings in the court in the United States of America for the purpose of which a request for the taking of the evidence has been made were proceedings in the sheriff court.

    (5) A court in—

(a) England and Wales or Northern Ireland may, for the purpose of any proceedings in that court under this Part of this Act relating to a maintenance order to which this Part of this Act applies, send to the Lord Chancellor; or

(b) Scotland may, for the purpose of such proceedings in that court relating to such an order, send to the Scottish Ministers,

for transmission to the responsible authority in the United States of America a request for a court in the United States of America to take or provide evidence relating to such matters as may be specified in the request.

    (6) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, in subsection (3), for the reference to section 97(1), (3) and (4) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 there shall be substituted a reference to Articles 118(1), (3) and (4), 119 and 120 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.

Order etc. made in the United States of America need not be proved
     15. For the purposes of this Part of this Act, unless the contrary is shown—

(a) any order made by a court in the United States of America purporting to bear the seal of that court or to be signed by any person in his capacity as a judge or officer of the court, shall be deemed without further proof to have been duly sealed or, as the case may be, to have been signed by that person;

(b) the person by whom the order was signed shall be deemed without further proof to have been a judge or officer, as the case may be, of that court when he signed it and, in the case of an officer, to have been authorised to sign it; and

(c) a document purporting to be a certified copy of an order made by a court in the United States of America shall be deemed without further proof to be such a copy.

Supplemental

Payment of sums due under orders made in the United States of America: conversion of money
     16. —(1) Payment of sums due under a registered order shall, while the order is registered in a court in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, be made in such manner and to such person as may be prescribed.

    (2) Where the sums required to be paid under a registered order are expressed in a currency other than the currency of the United Kingdom, then, as from the relevant date, the order shall be treated as if it were an order requiring the payment of such sums in the currency of the United Kingdom as, on the basis of the rate of exchange prevailing at that date, are equivalent to the sums so required to be paid.

    (3) Where the sum specified in any statement, being a statement of the amount of any arrears due under a maintenance order made by a court in the United States of America, is expressed in a currency other than the currency of the United Kingdom, that sum shall be deemed to be such sum in the currency of the United Kingdom as, on the basis of the rate of exchange prevailing at the relevant date, is equivalent to the sum so specified.

    (4) For the purposes of this section a written certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of any bank in the United Kingdom certifying that a specified rate of exchange prevailed between currencies at a specified date and that at such rate a specified sum in the currency of the United Kingdom is equivalent to a specified sum in another specified currency shall be evidence of the rate of exchange so prevailing on that date and of the equivalent sums in terms of the respective currencies.

    (5) In this section "the relevant date" means—

(a) in relation to a registered order or to a statement of arrears due under a maintenance order made by a court in the United States of America, the date on which the order first becomes a registered order;

(b) in relation to a registered order which has been varied, the date on which the last order varying that order is registered in the registering court.

    (6) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) subsection (1) shall not apply; and

(b) in subsection (4), for the word "evidence" there shall be substituted the words "sufficient evidence".

Proceedings in magistrates' courts
     17. —(4) Anything authorised or required by this Part of this Act to be done by, to or before the magistrates' court by, to or before which any other thing was done may be done by, to or before any magistrates' court acting in the same local justice area (or, in Northern Ireland, acting for the same petty sessions district) as that court.

    (5A) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates' court in England and Wales, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies, is residing in the United States of America, a magistrates' court in England and Wales shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have such jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been residing in England and Wales.

    (6) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates' court in Northern Ireland, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies, is residing in the United States of America, a magistrates' court in Northern Ireland shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have such jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been residing in Northern Ireland.

    (7) Where the respondent to an application for the variation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates' court, and to which section 5 of this Act applies, does not appear at the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application, but the court is satisfied that the respondent is residing in the United States of America, and that the requirements of section 5(4) or (6) or section 9(2) and (4), as the case may be, have been complied with, the court may proceed to hear and determine the application at the time and place appointed for the hearing or for any adjourned hearing as if the respondent had appeared at that time and place.

Magistrates' courts rules
     18. —(1) Rules of court may make provision with respect to—

(a) the circumstances in which anything authorised or required by this Part of this Act to be done by, to or before a magistrates' court acting in a particular local justice area or by, to or before an officer of that court may be done by, to or before a magistrates' court acting in such other local justice area as the rules may provide or by, to or before an officer of that court;

(b) the orders made, or other things done, by a magistrates' court, or an officer of such a court, under this Part of this Act, or by a court in the United States of America, notice of which is to be given to such persons as the rules may provide and the manner in which such notice shall be given;

(c) the cases and manner in which courts in the United States of America are to be informed of orders made, or other things done, by a magistrates' court under this Part of this Act;

(d) the cases and manner in which a justices' clerk may take evidence needed for the purpose of proceedings in a court in the United States of America relating to a maintenance order to which this Part of this Act applies;

(f) the circumstances and manner in which magistrates' courts may for the purposes of this Part of this Act communicate with courts in the United States of America.

    (1A) For the purpose of giving effect to this Part of this Act, rules of court may make, in relation to any proceedings brought under or by virtue of this Part of this Act, any provision not covered by subsection (1) above which—

(a) falls within subsection (2) of section 93 of the Children Act 1989, and

(b) may be made in relation to relevant proceedings under that section.

    (2) Rules with respect to the matters mentioned in subsection (1) above may be made in accordance with Article 13 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 in relation to proceedings or matters in magistrates' courts in Northern Ireland under this Part of this Act.

    (2A) For the purpose of giving effect to this Part of this Act, rules made in accordance with Article 13 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 may make, in relation to any proceedings brought under or by virtue of this Part of this Act, any provision not covered by subsection (2) above which—

(a) falls within paragraph (2) of Article 165 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, and

(b) may be made in relation to relevant proceedings under that Article.

Rules for sheriff court
     19. Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred on the Court of Session by section 32 of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 to regulate by act of sederunt the procedure of the sheriff court, the said powers shall include power—

(a) to prescribe the decrees granted, or other things done, by the sheriff, or an officer of the sheriff court, under this Part of this Act, or by a court in the United States of America, notice of which is to be given to such persons as the act of sederunt may provide and the manner in which such notice shall be given;

(b) to provide that evidence needed for the purpose of proceedings in a court in the United States of America relating to a maintenance order to which this Part of this Act applies may, in such cases and manner as the act of sederunt may provide, be taken by a sheriff clerk or sheriff clerk depute;

(c) to prescribe the cases and manner in which courts in the United States of America are to be informed of decrees granted, or other things done, by the sheriff under this Part of this Act;

(e) to prescribe the circumstances and manner in which the sheriff may for the purposes of this Part of this Act communicate with courts in the United States of America.

Interpretation of Part 1
     21. —(1) In this Part of this Act—

"affiliation order" means an order (however described) adjudging, finding or declaring a person to be the father of a child, whether or not it also provides for the maintenance of the child;

"the appropriate court", in relation to a person residing or having assets in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland means a magistrates' court, and in relation to a person residing or having assets in Scotland means a sheriff court, within the jurisdiction of which that person is residing or has assets;

"certificate of arrears", in relation to a maintenance order, means a certificate certifying that the sum specified in the certificate is to the best of the information or belief of the officer or, in Scotland, the applicant or his solicitor giving the certificate the amount of the arrears due under the order at the date of the certificate or, as the case may be, that to the best of his information or belief there are no arrears due thereunder at that date;

"certified copy", in relation to an order of a court, means a copy of the order certified by the proper officer of the court to be a true copy;

"court" includes any tribunal or person having power to make, confirm, enforce, vary or revoke a maintenance order;

"maintenance order" means an order (however described) of any of the following descriptions, that is to say—

(a) an order (including an affiliation order or order consequent upon an affiliation order) which provides for the payment of a lump sum or the making of periodical payments towards the maintenance of any person, being a person whom the person liable to make payments under the order is, according to the law applied in the place where the order was made, liable to maintain;

(aa) an order which has been made in Scotland, on or after the granting of a decree of divorce, for the payment of a periodical allowance by one party to the marriage to the other party;

(b) an affiliation order or order consequent upon an affiliation order, being an order which provides for the payment by a person adjudged, found or declared to be a child's father of expenses incidental to the child's birth or, where the child has died, of his funeral expenses;

(c) an order within the foregoing provisions of this definition made against a payer on the application of a public body which claims reimbursement of sums of money payable under the order with respect to the payee if reimbursement can be obtained by the public body under the law to which it is subject,

and, in the case of a maintenance order which has been varied, means that order as varied;

"order", as respects Scotland, includes any interlocutor, and any decree or provision contained in an interlocutor;

"payee", in relation to a maintenance order, means the person entitled to the payments for which the order provides;

"payer", in relation to a maintenance order, means the person liable to make payments under the order;

"prescribed", in relation to a magistrates' court in Northern Ireland, means prescribed by rules made in accordance with Article 13 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, and in relation to any other court means prescribed by rules of court;

"reciprocating country" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of this Act;

"registered order" means a maintenance order which is for the time being registered in a court in the United Kingdom under this Part of this Act and "registered" and "registration" shall be construed accordingly;

"registering court", in relation to a registered order, means the court in which that order is for the time being registered under this Part of this Act;

"the responsible authority", in relation to a reciprocating country, means any person who in that country has functions similar to those of the Lord Chancellor under this Part of this Act;

"revoke" and "revocation" include discharge;

"the United States of America" means the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other jurisdiction of the United States participating in Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (Title 42, United States Code, Chapter 7, subchapter IV, Part D).

    (3) Any reference in this Part of this Act to the payment of money for the maintenance of a child shall be construed as including a reference to the payment of money for the child's education.