The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (Republic of Ireland) Order 1993

6.—(1) Section 6 shall be amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

“(1) This section applies to a maintenance order made whether before, on or after 5th April 1993 by a court in the Republic of Ireland.”.

(3) In subsection (2)—

(a)after the words “received by” there shall be inserted the words “the Lord Chancellor or”;

(b)for the words “the Secretary of State” in the second place where they occur, there shall be substituted the word “him”;

(c)the words “or has assets” shall be omitted; and

(d)after the words “copy of the order” there shall be inserted the words “and the accompanying documents”.

(4) In subsection (3)—

(a)after the words “receives from” there shall be inserted the words “the Lord Chancellor or”; and

(b)for the words “subsection (4)” there shall be substituted the words “the following subsections”.

(5) In subsection (4)—

(a)the words “has no assets” shall be omitted;

(b)for the words “residing and has no assets within the jurisdiction of the court” there shall be substituted the words “so residing”;

(c)the words “and the nature and location of his assets” shall be omitted; and

(d)after the words “copy of the order” there shall be inserted the words “and the accompanying documents to the Lord Chancellor or, as the case may be,”.

(6) After subsection (4) there shall be added—

“(5) The order shall not be registered—

(a)if such registration is contrary to public policy;

(b)if the payer did not appear in the proceedings in the Republic of Ireland and he was not served in accordance with the law of the place where he was residing with the summons or other notice of the institution of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to arrange for his defence;

(c)if the order is irreconcilable with a judgment given in the United Kingdom in proceedings between the same parties.

(6) If the order is registered under this section, the prescribed officer of the appropriate court shall serve notice in a prescribed form on the payer and give notice to the payee that the order has been registered.

(7) The payer may within one calendar month from the date of service of the said notice appeal to the court in which the order is registered to set aside the registration of the order on one of the grounds set out in subsection (5) above.

(8) If the payer appeals to the appropriate court to set aside the registration of the order, the prescribed officer of the court shall give notice to the payee of the appeal and of the date of the hearing of the appeal.

(9) If the payer appeals to the appropriate court to set aside the registration of the order, the court may, on the application of the payer, stay, or in Scotland sist, the proceedings if either—

(a)enforcement of the maintenance order has been suspended in the Republic of Ireland pending the determination of any form of appeal; or

(b)the time for an appeal has not yet expired and enforcement has been suspended pending the making of an appeal,

and in the latter case the court may lay down the time within which the proceedings will be stayed or sisted.

(10) If the order is not registered by virtue of subsection (5) above, the prescribed officer shall give notice to the payee in a prescribed form that the order has not been registered.

(11) A payee to whom notice has been given by the officer of any court under subsection (10) above may within one calendar month of the date of the notice appeal to that court to set aside the decision not to register the order.

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

(a)in subsection (6), for the words “serve notice on” there shall be substituted the words “intimate to”;

(b)in subsection (7), for the words “service of the said notice” there shall be substituted the words “the said intimation”; and

(c)in subsections (7) to (11), for any reference to an appeal there shall be substituted a reference to an application and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.”.