The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Fees and charges

17.—(1) The Department of Finance in Northern Ireland may by order make regulations prescribing—

(a) the amount of the fee payable under regulation 7(3);

(b) fees for attendance by a registrar at a registrar’s office for the purpose of officiating at the signing of the conversion declaration in a conversion under this Part—

(i) on Saturdays or Sundays, or days that are bank holidays in Northern Ireland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(1), or

(ii) after 5 p.m. on other days.

(2) Section 17(2), (3) and (5) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (implied power to amend or revoke, incidental power and power to make differential provision) apply in relation to power under paragraph (1) as if it were power conferred by an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(3) Orders under paragraph (1) are statutory rules for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979(2).

(4) An order under paragraph (1) may only be made if a draft has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(5) If a statutory rule contains only an order under paragraph (1)(a), and the regulations made by the order prescribe for the fee payable under regulation 7(3) an amount that is not more than £30 or revoke regulations made by a previous order under paragraph (1)(a) (or do both)—

(a) paragraph (4) does not apply to the order;

(b) the order is subject to negative resolution within the meaning of section 41(6) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3).

(6) The fees in force under the Schedule to the General Register Office (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016(4) for attendance by the registrar at the registrar’s office at times on Monday to Friday after 5 p.m., or at times at weekends or on bank holidays, for the purpose of solemnising a civil marriage apply also for attendance by a registrar at a registrar’s office at corresponding times for the purpose of officiating at the signing of the conversion declaration in a conversion under this Part.

(7) Paragraphs (1)(b) and (6) apply even where the attendance is in the year beginning with the day these Regulations come into force; and a fee under paragraph (1)(b) for attendance at a particular time is payable in place of any fee payable by virtue of paragraph (6) for attendance at that time.

(8) In relation to a conversion under this Part of a civil partnership into a marriage following the version of the two-stage procedure offered by regulation 7(6)(a) and (c)(ii), regulation 27 of the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003(5) (charge for attendance by registrar at approved places) has effect with the following modifications—

(a) the reference to an intended civil marriage is to be read as a reference to the intended conversion, and

(b) the reference to the solemnisation of the marriage is to be read as a reference to the date specified under regulation 8(3)(a).

(9) In relation to a conversion under this Part of a marriage into a civil partnership following the version of the two-stage procedure offered by regulation 7(6)(a) and (c)(ii), regulation 19 of the Civil Partnership Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(6) (charge for attendance by registrar at approved places) has effect with the following modifications—

(a) the reference to an intended civil partnership registration is to be read as a reference to the intended conversion, and

(b) the reference to the registration of the civil partnership is to be read as a reference to the date specified under regulation 9(3).

(10) Paragraph (8) or (9) applies even where the date mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph is in the year beginning with the day these Regulations come into force.

(1)

1971 c. 80. See section 1, which was amended by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36).

(2)

S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I. 12).

(3)

Section 41(6) was amended by S.I. 1999/663.

(4)

S.R. 2016/205. The footnotes to the Schedule were amended by S.I. 2019/1514. The fees for out-of-hours attendance are currently £126 (weekday evenings and Saturday daytime) and £180 (Saturday evenings, and Sundays and bank holidays).

(5)

S.I. 2003/468. Regulation 27 was amended by S.R. 2014/296.

(6)

S.I. 2005/482. Regulation 19 was amended by S.R. 2014/297.