The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (Hague Convention Countries) Order 1993

Interpretation of Part I.

21.—(1) In this Part of this Act unless the context otherwise requires–

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

“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 giving the certificate the amount of the arrears due under the order at the date of the certificate except any arrears that accrued before the date of the entry into force of the Hague Convention between the United Kingdom and the Hague Convention country in which the payer is residing, or, as the case may be, that to the best of his information or belief there are no arrears due thereunder at the date of the certificate;

“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 and “competent court in a Hague Convention country” means a court having jurisdiction on one of the grounds specified in section 6(5)(a) above;

“maintenance order” means an order (however described), including any settlement made by or before a competent court in a Hague Convention country, of any of the following descriptions, and in the case of an order which is not limited to the following descriptions, the part of the order which is so limited, that is to say–

(a)

an order (including an affiliation order or order consequent upon an affiliation order) which provides for the periodical payment of sums of money 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; and

(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 the 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 (including a maintenance order which has been varied either by a court in the United Kingdom or by a competent court in a Hague Convention country whether or not the original order was made by such a court), means that order as varied:

Provided that the expression “maintenance order” shall not include an order made in a Hague Convention country of a description which that country or the United Kingdom has reserved the right under Article 26 of the Hague Convention not to recognise or enforce;

“order” means an order however described giving effect to a decision rendered by a court and, 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 and includes a public body which has provided benefits for the payee and which is entitled ipso jure under the law to which it is subject to claim enforcement of the said order to the extent of the benefits so provided in place of the said person;

“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 England and Wales or in Northern Ireland, means prescribed by rules made under section 144 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980 or by rules made in accordance with Article 13 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, as the case may be, and in relation to any other court means prescribed by rules of court;

“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;

“revoke” and “revocation” include discharge.

(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.