Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1992

3 After section 4, there shall be inserted—

“4A Variation and revocation of maintenance orders

(1) This section applies to—

(a) any maintenance order made by virtue of section 3 of this Act which has been confirmed as mentioned in that section; and

(b) any maintenance order which has been confirmed under section 4 of this Act.

(2) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order to which this section applies is residing in a part of Her Majesty’s dominions outside the United Kingdom to which this Act extends, 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 that court would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been residing in England and Wales.

(3) Where the defendant to a complaint for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order to which this section applies is residing in a part of Her Majesty’s dominions outside the United Kingdom to which this Act extends, a court of summary jurisdiction in Northern Ireland shall have jurisdiction to hear the complaint if that court would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the defendant been residing in Northern Ireland.

(4) Where—

(a) the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order to which this section applies does not appear at the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application by a magistrates' court in England and Wales, and

(b) the court is satisfied that the respondent is residing in a part of Her Majesty’s dominions outside the United Kingdom to which this Act extends,

the court may proceed to hear and determine the application at the time and place appointed for the hearing or for any adjourned hearing in like manner as if the respondent had appeared at that time and place.

(5) Subsection (4) shall apply to Northern Ireland with the following modifications—

(a) for the word “respondent” (in each place where it occurs) there shall be substituted “defendant”,

(b) for the words “an application” and “the application” (in each place where they occur) there shall be substituted “a complaint” and “the complaint” respectively, and

(c) for the words “a magistrates' court in England and Wales” there shall be substituted “a court of summary jurisdiction in Northern Ireland”.

(6) In this section “revocation” includes discharge.”