Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976

Re-registration of births of legitimated persons N.I.

19.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Registrar General may at any time, on production of such evidence as appears to him to be satisfactory, give his written authority for the re-registration of the birth of a legitimated person whose birth is already registerd under this Order (or any statutory provision repealed by the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this Order).

(2) Any re-registration under paragraph (1) shall be effected in the prescribed manner and at such place as may be prescribed.

(3) The Registrar General shall not give his authority for the re-registration of the birth of any such person as is mentioned in paragraph (1) where information with a view to obtaining the re-registration is not furnished to him by both parents, unless—

(a) the name of a person acknowledging himself to be the father of the legitimated person has been entered in the register in pursuance of Article 14 or 18 of this Order, section 23 or 29 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland) 1880 [1880 c.13] ; or

[F1 (aa) the name of a person acknowledging herself to be a parent of the legitimated person by virtue of section 43 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 has been entered in the register in pursuance of Article 14ZA or 18 of this Order; or]

(b) the paternity of the legitimated person has been established by an affiliation order or otherwise by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction; or

[F2 (ba) the parentage by virtue of section 43 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 of the legitimated person has been established by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction; or]

(c) a declaration of the legitimacy of the legitimated person has been made under the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland) 1868[F3 or Article 32 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989] or any corresponding enactment in force at the date of the declaration in any part of Great Britain.

(4) The parents of any such person as is mentioned in paragraph (1) or, where under paragraph (3) the birth of such a person may be re-registered on information furnished by one of his parents and the other parent is dead, the surviving parent of such a person shall, within three months from the date of the marriage [F4 or the formation of the civil partnership] which legitimates that person, furnish to the Registrar General such information as is necessary to enable him to give his authority for the re-registration of the birth of that person.

(5) Where—

(a) the Registrar General believes any person to have become a legitimated person within the meaning of the Legitimacy Acts (Northern Ireland) 1928 to 1961 on the marriage [F5 or civil partnership] of his parents; and

(b) the parents or either of them fail to furnish within a period of three months from the date of the marriage [F6 or the formation of the civil partnership] such information as may be necessary to enable the Registrar General to give his authority for the re-registration of that person's birth;

the Registrar General may at any time after the expiration of the said period require the parents or either of them to give him such information concerning the matter as he may consider necessary verified in such manner as he may direct.

(6) Where—

(a) the Registrar General gives his authority for the re-registration of the birth of any person under this Article; and

(b) the birth of that person is not so re-registered within three weeks from the date on which the Registrar General gives his authority for that re-registration.

the Registrar General may at any time after the expiration of that period by notice in writing require the person specified in the authority as the informant [F7 to take such steps for the purposes of re-registration as are specified in the notice within such time as may be so specified.]

(7) Paragraphs (1) to (6) shall apply in relation to all persons recognised by the law of Northern Ireland as having been legitimated by the subsequent marriage [F8 or civil partnership] of their parents, whether or not their legitimation, or the recognition thereof, was effected by the Legitimacy Act (Northern Ireland) 1928 [1928 c.5] .

(8) The failure of the parents of a legitimated person or either of them to furnish the information required by this Article shall not affect the legitimation of that person.

(9) Any entry relating to the re-registration of the birth of any person under this Article shall not be treated as evidence of the legitimation of that person.

(10) This Article shall apply with such modifications as the Department may, by regulations made subject to affirmative resolution, prescribe in relation to births at sea of which the Registrar General receives a return under any statutory provision.

F1 Art. 19(3)(aa) inserted (6.4.2009 for certain purposes otherwise 1.9.2009) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), ss. 56, 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 64(2)(a); S.I. 2009/479, arts. 5(h), 6(1)(e)(f)(2) (with transitional provisions in art. 7, Sch. 1)

F2 Art. 19(3)(ba) inserted (6.4.2009 for certain purposes otherwise 1.9.2009) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), ss. 56, 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 64(2)(b); S.I. 2009/479, arts. 5(h), 6(1)(e)(f)(2) (with transitional provisions in art. 7, Sch. 1)

F3 1995 NI 2

F4 Words in art. 19(4) inserted (6.4.2009 for certain purposes otherwise 1.9.2009) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), ss. 56, 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 64(3); S.I. 2009/479, arts. 5(h), 6(1)(e)(f)(2) (with transitional provisions in art. 7, Sch. 1)

F5 Words in art. 19(5) inserted (6.4.2009 for certain purposes otherwise 1.9.2009) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), ss. 56, 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 64(4)(a); S.I. 2009/479, arts. 5(h), 6(1)(e)(f)(2) (with transitional provisions in art. 7, Sch. 1)

F6 Words in art. 19(5) inserted (6.4.2009 for certain purposes otherwise 1.9.2009) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), ss. 56, 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 64(4)(b); S.I. 2009/479, arts. 5(h), 6(1)(e)(f)(2) (with transitional provisions in art. 7, Sch. 1)

F7 Words in art. 19(6) substituted (16.11.2012) by Civil Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 20), ss. 7, 34; S.R. 2012/406, art. 2, Sch.

F8 Words in art. 19(7) inserted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 22(5) (with regs. 6-9)