The Family Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1993

Northern Ireland Order in Council 1993 No. 1576 — creates 3 criminal offences.

Made

23 June 1993

In force from

Not determined

Extent

Not stated

Subject

Miscellaneous

Made under

Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

This Order relates to family law in Northern Ireland. Article 3 abolishes the requirement for certain press notices in respect of marriages in register offices. Article 4 relaxes the restrictions on marriages within prohibited degrees of relationships, mainly between “in-laws”, if certain requirements are satisfied, and Article 5 enables the parties to an intended marriage within certain degrees of affinity to seek a declaration to the effect that the marriage would not be void by reason of the prohibited degrees. Articles 6 to 11 make provision as to the methods of payment, and the variation of the methods of payment, under maintenance orders, including maintenance orders registered in, or confirmed by, courts of summary jurisdiction or registered in the High Court. Article 12 establishes a new rules committee in relation to family proceedings in the High Court and county courts. Articles 13 and 14(2) transfer functions under certain provisions from the Secretary of State to the Lord Chancellor and from justices of the peace to resident magistrates. Article 14(1) makes breach of a personal protection order or an exclusion order a criminal offence. Article 15 disapplies the requirement for the petitioner’s oral testimony in divorce cases where the petition alleges two years' separation and the respondent consents to a decree being granted or where the petition alleges five years' separation.

Offences created by this instrument

• Personal protection orders and exclusion orders article 14(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Breach of personal protection order or exclusion order article 19(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
• Orders for periodical payment: means of payment article 85(14) · Status not determined · Strict liability

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

Check the source

• This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
• Other instruments from 1993