Section 19: Curfew orders
Section 19 inserts nine new Articles, 36G, 36H, 36I, 36J, 36K, 36L, 36M, 36N and 36O into the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and provides the Department with a power to apply to a court for a curfew order to be made against a non-resident parent who fails to pay maintenance.
The new Article 36G enables the Department to apply to the court for a curfew order against a non-resident parent if:
it has sought to recover the arrears through the use of the Enforcement of Judgments Office;
the whole or any part of the arrears remains unpaid; and
it is of the opinion that the non-resident parent has wilfully refused or culpably neglected to pay maintenance.
Paragraph (2) requires the court to inquire about (in the presence of the non-resident parent against whom the liability order has been made) that person’s means, and whether they have wilfully refused or culpably neglected to pay the child support maintenance for which they are liable.
Paragraph (3) prevents a court, when considering an application for a curfew, from questioning the liability order on which an application for a curfew order has been made, or the original maintenance calculation which is the basis of the liability order.
Paragraph (4) prevents the court from making a curfew order, unless it is of the opinion that the non-resident parent has wilfully refused or culpably neglected to pay maintenance.
Paragraph (5) prevents the court from making an order against a person who is under the age of eighteen.
Paragraph (6) provides that for the purposes of this Article and Articles 36H to 36O the ‘court’ means a court of summary jurisdiction.
Article 36H concerns the duration of a curfew order.
Paragraph (1) of Article 36H stipulates that a curfew order must be limited to between two and twelve hours in any one day, but may include different periods and different places for different days.
Paragraphs (2) and (3) require the period of the curfew to be specified in the order, that it not last for more than six months and that it begin on the day the order is made unless otherwise specified.
Paragraph (4) ensures that the curfew imposed does not conflict (so far as practicable) with the non-resident parent’s religious beliefs or interfere with the times at which they normally work or attend any educational establishment.
Paragraph (5) prevents a court from specifying a curfew location outside Northern Ireland.
Article 36I provides that where a curfew order has been made, the court shall also make an order requiring the non-resident parent for whom the order has been made, to pay an amount in respect of the costs of the application and the monitoring of the curfew order.
Paragraph (2) of Article 36I provides that the powers available for the Department to collect and enforce child support maintenance also apply to the collection and enforcement of the costs incurred by making an order under this Article.
Article 36J sets out provisions about the relationship between the amount of maintenance outstanding and the curfew order imposed.
Paragraph (1) of Article 36J stipulates that a curfew order will be made in respect of an amount of money which totals both the amount sought to be recovered which remains outstanding, and the costs ordered by the court under Article 36I in relation to the application for a curfew order and monitoring compliance with that order.
Where part of the amount in respect of which a curfew order has been made is paid to the person authorised to receive it, paragraph (2) allows the court (on application by either the non-resident parent or the Department) discretion to:
reduce the period the curfew order is in place;
allow the curfew to start on a day later than the day the order would otherwise begin to run;
suspend the curfew or extend any existing suspension; or
revoke the curfew order.
Paragraph (3) enables the start date for a curfew, or the ability to suspend it, to be subject to specified conditions.
Where a non-resident parent has paid some of the arrears, paragraph (4) allows the Department to make representations to the courts as to which of the powers conferred by paragraph (2) should be exercised. The non-resident parent may reply to such representations.
Paragraph (5) requires the court (on application by the non-resident parent or the Department) to revoke a curfew order if the whole amount specified in the curfew order has been paid by the non-resident parent to the person authorised to receive it.
Paragraph (6) enables the Department to make a further application to the court if by the end of the curfew period the amount specified in the order has not been paid in full.
Article 36K provides a power for the court to order the search of a non-resident parent in respect of whom a curfew order has been made.
Paragraph (2) of Article 36K sets out that during a search, any money found on a non-resident parent shall (unless the court otherwise directs) be taken by the court and put towards the amount specified in the curfew order (the balance, if any, would be returned to the non-resident parent).
Paragraph (3) prevents the court from taking any money if it is satisfied that it does not belong to the non-resident parent.
Paragraph (4) gives some flexibility to the court enabling it to exercise its powers to reduce, postpone, suspend or revoke the order (under Article 36J) without the need for a separate application, where money is found and put towards the amount owed by the non-resident parent.
Article 36L sets out the provisions relating to how a curfew will be monitored.
Paragraph (1) of Article 36L requires the non-resident parent’s compliance with a curfew order to be monitored by a person or body specified in the order.
Paragraph (2) prevents the court from imposing a curfew order unless:
it has been notified by the Department that suitable monitoring arrangements are available in the place specified in the order;
it is satisfied with those arrangements; and
it has the consent of any third party whose co-operation is necessary for monitoring the curfew order, for example, a landlord who must give permission for a monitoring system to be installed in the home of a non-resident parent.
Where a third party’s consent cannot be obtained, paragraph (3) enables the court to treat the application for a curfew order as an application for committal to prison.
Paragraph (4) provides the Department with regulation-making powers to enable the responsible officer to allow the non-resident parent to be absent from the place specified in the curfew order during the curfew period in certain cases or circumstances, and also the power to set out the requirements which may be imposed in relation to such an absence.
Article 36M concerns breaches of curfew orders.
Paragraph (1) of Article 36M allows the person responsible for monitoring compliance with the curfew order, or the Department, to apply to the court should the non-resident parent not meet the requirements of the curfew order, or subsequent requirements imposed by virtue of Article 36L(4).
Paragraphs (2) and (3) require the court to establish (in the presence of the non-resident parent) whether the curfew order has been breached without reasonable excuse, and if it is found to have been, the court can issue a warrant to commit the non-resident parent to prison or extend the period of the curfew order.
Paragraph (4) sets out that a warrant for committal to prison shall order that the non-resident parent be imprisoned for the period specified in the warrant but released (unless in custody for a different reason) should they pay the full amount due in respect of the curfew order made.
Paragraph (5) provides that a warrant may be directed to such person or persons as the court sees fit.
Paragraph (6) provides that where a curfew order is extended because it has been breached, that order cannot be extended for more than six months from the date the extension of the order is made.
Paragraph (7) enables the court to release a non-resident parent from prison or reduce their sentence if they pay part of the amount specified in the curfew order, following an application from the Department or the non-resident parent.
Where part of the amount specified in the order is paid, paragraph (8) enables the Department to make representations to the court about whether the period specified in the warrant should be either reduced or whether the person imprisoned should be released. It also enables the non-resident parent to respond to those representations.
Article 36N prevents a court from making a curfew order against a non-resident parent who is in prison for any reason.
Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 36N suspend a curfew order if the non-resident parent is committed to prison, and commences it once the suspension is lifted because the non-resident parent is released from prison.
Article 36O provides the Department with regulation-making powers regarding the practical procedures relating to curfew orders.
Paragraph (2) of Article 36O sets out that the regulations may in particular include provisions relating to the following:
form and content of a curfew order;
allowing an application for a curfew order to be renewed if no order is made;
allowing an employer’s written statement as evidence that wages have been paid to a non-resident parent;
enabling a lay magistrate to issue a summons for a person to appear in court and, where they do not, to issue a warrant for their arrest, or to issue a warrant for arrest without issuing a summons first, to secure a person’s presence before it;
the execution of a warrant for arrest;
enabling a curfew order to be amended or revoked on application to the courts by the Department or the non-resident parent;
in relation to any amendment, provision similar to that in Article 36I – determining the amount of costs the court can recover from a non-resident parent, Article 36K – ordering a search of a non-resident parent, Articles 36L(2) and (3) – requirement for monitoring arrangements to be in place; and
how a court of summary jurisdiction exercises its power following part payment under Articles 36J(2) and (3) and Article 36M(7).
