The Service Departments Registers (Amendment) Order 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Service Departments Registers Order 1959 (“the 1959 Order”) (S.I. 1959/406) which is made under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Special Provisions) Act 1957 (c. 58). The 1959 Order sets out the relevant provisions for the keeping of records of births and deaths occurring and marriages and civil partnerships entered into outside the United Kingdom among members of Her Majesty’s armed forces, associated civilians and their respective families. Articles 3A and 3B of the 1959 Order were inserted by the Service Departments Registers (Amendment) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/908) and detail, supplementing the main provisions in article 3 of the 1959 Order, who may give information to a registering officer in relation to a death, birth or marriage to which the 1959 Order applies (“qualified informants”). This Order amends articles 3A and 3B to reflect changes as to who may be a qualified informant and who may be registered as a parent of a child as a result of changes introduced by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22).

Article 3A of the 1959 Order required specified documentation to be provided by a qualified informant seeking to register a birth. The amendments to article 3A in this Order now include any documentation required under Scottish law to be provided prior to such a registration, thereby covering people who have entered into relevant agreements or have been named in relevant court orders in Scotland.