Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972

9 Variation and revocation of maintenance order registered in United Kingdom court. U.K.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the registering court—

(a) shall have the like power, on an application made by the payer or payee under a registered order, to vary or revoke the order as if it had been made by the registering court and as if that court had had jurisdiction to make it; and

(b) shall have power to vary or revoke a registered order by a provisional order.

[F1 (1A) The powers conferred by subsection (1) above are not exercisable in relation to so much of a registered order as provides for the payment of a lump sum.]

[F2 (1B) The registering court shall not vary or revoke a registered order if neither the payer nor the payee under the order is resident in the United Kingdom.]

[F3 (1ZA) Where the registering court is a magistrates’ court in England and Wales, section 60 of theMagistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (revocation, variation etc. of orders for periodical payment) shall have effect in relation to the registered order—

(a) as if in subsection (3) for the words “paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 59(3) above” there were substituted “subsection (3A) below” and after that subsection there were inserted—

““(3A) The powers of the court are—

(a) the power to order that payments under the order be made directly to the clerk of the court or the clerk of any other magistrates’ court;

(b) the power to order that payments under the order be made to the clerk of the court, or to the clerk of any other magistrates’ court, by such method of payment falling within section 59(6) above (standing order, etc.) as may be specified;

(c) the power to make an attachment of earnings order under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 to secure payments under the order.”

(b) as if in subsection (4) for paragraph (b) there were substituted—

“(b) payments under the order are required to be made to the clerk of the court, or to the clerk of any other magistrates’ court, by any method of payment falling within section 59(6) above (standing order, etc.)”; and as if after the words “the court” there were inserted “which made the order”;

(c) as if in subsection (5) for the words “to the clerk” there were substituted “in accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection (3A) above”;

(d) as if in subsection (7), paragraph (c) and the word “and” immediately preceding it were omitted;

(e) as if in subsection (8) for the words “paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 59(3) above” there were substituted “subsection (3A) above”;

(f) as if for subsections (9) and (10) there were substituted the following subsections—

“(9) In deciding, for the purposes of subsections (3) and (8) above, which of the powers under subsection (3A) above it is to exercise, the court shall have regard to any representations made by the debtor.

(10) Subsection (4) of section 59 above (power of court to require debtor to open account) shall apply for the purposes of subsection (3A) above as it applies for the purposes of that section but as if for paragraph (a) there were substituted—

“(a) the court proposes to exercise its power under paragraph (b) of section 60(3A) below, and””]

(2) The registering court shall not vary a registered order otherwise than by a provisional order unless—

(a) both the payer and the payee under the registered order are for the time being residing in the United Kingdom; or

(b) the application is made by the payee under the registered order; or

(c) the variation consists of a reduction in the rate of the payments under the registered order and is made solely on the ground that there has been a change in the financial circumstances of the payer since the registered order was made or, in the case of an order registered under section 7 of this Act, since the registered order was confirmed, and the courts in the reciprocating country in which the maintenance order in question was made do not have power, according to the law in force in that country, to confirm provisional orders varying maintenance orders.

(3) The registering court shall not revoke a registered order otherwise than by a provisional order unless both the payer and the payee under the registered order are for the time being residing in the United Kingdom.

(4) On an application for the revocation of a registered order the registering court shall, unless both the payer and the payee under the registered order are for the time being residing in the United Kingdom, apply the law applied by the reciprocating country in which the registered order was made; but where by virtue of this subsection the registering court is required to apply that law, that court may make a provisional order if it has reason to believe that the ground on which the application is made is a ground on which the order could be revoked according to the law applied by the reciprocating country, notwithstanding that it has not been established that it is such a ground.

(5) Where the registering court makes a provisional order varying or revoking a registered order the prescribed officer of the court shall send in the prescribed manner to the court in the reciprocating country which made the registered order a certified copy of the provisional order together with a document, authenticated in the prescribed manner, setting out or summarising the evidence given in the proceedings.

(6) Where a certified copy of a provisional order made by a court in a reciprocating country, being an order varying a registered order, together with a document, duly authenticated, setting out or summarising the evidence given in the proceedings in which the provisional order was made, is received by the registering court, that court may confirm the order either without alteration or with such alterations as it thinks reasonable or refuse to confirm the order.

(7) For the purpose of determining whether a provisional order should be confirmed under subsection (6) above the court shall proceed as if an application for the variation of the registered order had been made to it.

(8) Where a registered order has been varied by an order (including a provisional order which has been confirmed) made by a court in the United Kingdom or by a competent court in a reciprocating country, the registered order shall, as from [F4 the date on which under the provisions of the order the variation is to take effect], have effect as varied by that order and, where that order was a provisional order, as if that order had been made in the form in which it was confirmed and as if it had never been a provisional order.

(9) Where a registered order has been revoked by an order made by a court in the United Kingdom or by a competent court in a reciprocating country, including a provisional order made by the first-mentioned court which has been confirmed by a competent court in a reciprocating country, the registered order shall, as from [F5 the date on which under the provisions of the order the revocation is to take effect], be deemed to have ceased to have effect except as respects any arrears due under the registered order at that date.

(10) The prescribed officer of the registering court shall register in the prescribed manner any order varying a registered order other than a provisional order which is not confirmed.

(11) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) after subsection (4) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

“(4A) It shall not be necessary for the payer under a registered order to intimate to any person the making by him of an application for a provisional order varying or revoking the registered order.”; and

(b) for subsection (7) there shall be substituted the following subsection:—

“(7) Where a certified copy of a provisional order varying a registered order is received by the registering court as mentioned in subsection (6) above, the prescribed officer of that court shall intimate to the payer under the registered order, in the prescribed manner, that the provisional order has been received as aforesaid and that, unless the payer enters appearance within the prescribed period, the court will confirm the provisional order under this section.”

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 9(1A) inserted by Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (c. 27, SIF 45:3), ss. 23(1)(c), 37(1), 52, Sch. 11 Pt. I para. 4(1)

F2 S. 9(1B) inserted by Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (c. 27, SIF 45:3), ss. 23(1)(c), 37(1), 52, Sch. 11 Pt. III para. 12

F3 S. 9(1ZA) inserted (E.W.)(1.4.1992) by Maintenance Enforcement Act 1991 (c. 17, SIF 49:3), s. 10, Sch. 1 para.14, S.I. 1992/455, art.2

F4 Words substituted by Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 (c. 22), ss. 54(e), 89

F5 Words substituted by Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 (c. 22), ss. 54(f), 89