1995 No. 2709
MAINTENANCE OF DEPENDANTS
The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (United States of America) Order 1995
Made 18th October 1995
Laid before Parliament 30th October 1995
Coming into force 1st December 1995
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 18th day of October 1995
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas Her Majesty is satisfied that arrangements have been made in the States of the United States of America specified in Schedule 1 to this Order to ensure that maintenance orders made by courts in the United Kingdom can be enforced there:
And whereas Her Majesty is satisfied that in the interest of reciprocity it is desirable to ensure that maintenance orders made by courts in those States can be enforced in the United Kingdom:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 40 of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 19721, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:
1. This Order may be cited as the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (United States of America) Order 1995 and shall come into force on 1st December 1995.
2. In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 19722; and
“specified State” means a State specified in Schedule 1 to this Order.
3. The provisions of Part I of the Act shall apply, with the exceptions, adaptations, and modifications specified in Schedule 2 to this Order, to maintenance orders made by courts in the United Kingdom and to maintenance orders made by courts in a specified State, and accordingly Part I of the Act shall, in relation to such orders, have effect as set out in Schedule 3 to this Order.
N. H. Nicholls
Clerk of the Privy Council
SCHEDULE 1
Article 2
SPECIFIED STATES
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
SCHEDULE 2
Article 3
MODIFICATIONS TO PART I OF THE ACT
1. Section 1 shall not apply.
2.—(1) Section 2 shall be amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (1)—
(a)
(a) for the words “before or after the commencement of this Part of this Act” there shall be substituted the words “before, on or after 1st December 1995”;
(b)
(b) for the words “reciprocating country” there shall be substituted the words “specified State”; and
(c)
(c) for the word “country” there shall be substituted the word “State”.
(3) In subsection (2)—
(a)
(a) the words “a provisional order or to” shall be omitted; and
(b)
(b) after the word “Act” there shall be added the words “as applied to a specified State by the Recovery of Maintenance (United States of America) Order 19933”.
(4) In subsection (4)—
(a)
(a) for the words “reciprocating country” where they first occur there shall be substituted the words “specified State”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (a), for the words “a certified copy” there shall be substituted the words “three certified copies”;
(c)
(c) in paragraph (c), at the end there shall be inserted the words “or, in Scotland, signed by the applicant or his solicitor”;
(d)
(d) for paragraph (d) there shall be substituted—
“(d)
“(d) a sworn statement signed by the payee giving the following information—
(i) the address of the payee;
(ii) such information as is known as to the whereabouts of the payer; and
(iii) a description, so far as is known, of the nature and location of any assets of the payer available for execution;”;
(e)
(e) after the words “that officer” where they last occur there shall be inserted the words “, in the case of a court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, to the Lord Chancellor, or, in the case of a court in Scotland,”;
(f)
(f) for the words “Secretary of State” in the second place where they occur, there shall be substituted the word “him”; and
(g)
(g) for the words “responsible authority in the reciprocating country” there shall be substituted the words “appropriate authority in the specified State”.
(5) In subsection (5), after the word “and” there shall be inserted the words “, subject to section 5 below,”.
3. Sections 3 and 4 shall not apply.
4. For section 5 there shall be substituted—
“5.—(1) This section applies to a maintenance order certified copies of which have been sent in pursuance of section 2 to a specified State for enforcement.
(2) The jurisdiction of a court in the United Kingdom to revoke, revive or vary a maintenance order shall be exercisable notwithstanding that the proceedings for the revocation, revival or variation, as the case may be, of the order are brought by or against a person residing in a specified State.
(3) Where subsection (1) of section 60 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 19804(revocation, variation, etc. of orders for periodical payment) applies in relation to a maintenance order to which this section applies, that subsection shall have effect as if for the words “by order on complaint” there were substituted “on an application being made, by order”.
(4) Where an application is made by the payee to a court in the United Kingdom for the variation or revocation of an order to which this section applies, and the payer is residing in a specified State, the prescribed officer of the court shall—
(a)
(a) in the case of a court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, send to the Lord Chancellor, or, in the case of a court in Scotland, send to the Secretary of State, notice of the institution of the proceedings, including notice of the substance of the application, with a view to its being transmitted to the appropriate authority in the specified State for service on the payer; and
(b)
(b) give the payer notice in writing of the date fixed for the hearing by sending the notice by post addressed to his last known or usual place of abode.
(5) Where such an application is made—
(a)
(a) the order shall not be varied or revoked unless the document mentioned in subsection (4)(a) above has been served on the payer in accordance with the law for the service of such a document in the specified State;
(b)
(b) the court, in considering whether or not to vary or revoke the order, shall take into account any representations made and any evidence adduced by or on behalf of the payer; and
(c)
(c) a copy of any such representations or evidence shall be served on the payee in the prescribed manner before the hearing.
(6) Where an application is made by the payer to a court in the United Kingdom for the variation or revocation of an order to which this section applies, the prescribed officer of the court shall arrange for the service of notice of institution of the proceedings, including notice of the substance of the application, on the payee.
(7) Where an order to which this section applies is varied or revoked by a court in the United Kingdom the prescribed officer of the court shall send the following documents, that is to say—
(a)
(a) three certified copies of the order of variation or revocation; and
(b)
(b) a written statement, signed by that officer as to whether both the payer and the payee under the order appeared in the proceedings, and, if only the applicant appeared, the original or a certified copy of a document which establishes that notice of the institution of the proceedings had been served on the other party,
in the case of a court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, to the Lord Chancellor, or, in the case of a court in Scotland, to the Secretary of State, with a view to their being transmitted by him to the appropriate authority in the specified State for registration and enforcement of the order of variation or revocation.
(8) Where a maintenance order to which this section applies has been varied by an order made by a court in the United Kingdom or by a court in a specified State, the maintenance order shall, as from the date on which the order of variation took effect, have effect as varied by that order.
(9) Where a maintenance order to which this section applies has been revoked by an order made by a court in the United Kingdom or by a court in a specified State, the maintenance order shall, as from the date on which the order of revocation took effect, be deemed to have ceased to have effect except in respect of any arrears due under the maintenance order at that date.
(10) Where a maintenance order to which this section applies has been varied or revoked by an order made by a court in a specified State, the prescribed officer of the court shall register the order of variation or revocation in the prescribed manner.”.
5.—(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 1st December 1995, by a court in a specified State.”.
(3) In subsection (2)—
(a)
(a) after the words “received by” there shall be inserted the words “the Lord Chancellor or”;
(b)
(b) for the words “responsible authority in a reciprocating country” there shall be substituted the words “appropriate authority in a specified State”; and
(c)
(c) for the words “Secretary of State” in the second place where they occur, there shall be substituted the word “him”.
(4) In subsection (3), after the words “receives from” there shall be inserted the words “the Lord Chancellor or”.
(5) In subsection (4), after the words “copy of the order to” there shall be inserted the words “the Lord Chancellor or” and after the words “Secretary...
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