The Child Support(Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Disputes about parentage

27.—(1) Where a person who is alleged to be a parent of the child with respect to whom an application for a maintenance assessment has been made (“the alleged parent”) denies that he is one of the child’s parents, the child support officer concerned shall not make a maintenance assessment on the assumption that the alleged parent is one of the child’s parents unless the case falls within one of those set out in paragraph (2).

(2) The Cases are—

• Case A

  Where the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question by virtue of having adopted him.

• Case B

  Where the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question by virtue of an order under section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990(1) (parental orders in favour of gamete donors).

• Case C

  Where—

  (a)

  either—

  (i)

  a declaration that the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question (or a declaration which has that effect) is in force under section 56 of the Family Law Act 1986(2) (declarations of parentage); or

  (ii)

  a declarator by a court in Scotland that the alleged parent is a parent of the child in question (or a declarator which has that effect) is in force; and

  (b)

  the child has not subsequently been adopted.

• Case D

  Where—

  (a)

  a declaration to the effect that the alleged parent is one of the parents of the child in question has been made under Article 28; and

  (b)

  the child has not subsequently been adopted.

• Case E

  Where—

  (a)

  the alleged parent has been found or adjudged to be the father of the child in question—

  (i)

  in affiliation proceedings before any court in the United Kingdom; or

  (ii)

  in proceedings before any court in England and Wales which are relevant proceedings for the purposes of section 12 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968(3),

  (whether or not he offered any defence to the allegation of paternity) and that finding or adjudication still subsists; and

  (b)

  the child has not subsequently been adopted.

(3) In this Article—

“adopted” means adopted within the meaning of Part V of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987(4); and

“affiliation proceedings”, in relation to Scotland, means any action of affiliation and aliment.

(1)

1990 c. 37

(2)

1986 c. 55

(3)

1968 c. 64

(4)

1987 NI 22