UK Offence Report

The International Recovery of Maintenance (Hague Convention 2007 etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Northern Ireland Statutory Rule 2012 No. 413 — creates 2 criminal offences.

2offences created
0recorded in force
0revoked
Made
16 November 2012
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Housing, planning, heritage and land
Made under
European Communities Act 1972

Explanatory note

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

These Regulations make provision to facilitate the application of the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and other forms of Family Maintenance done at The Hague on 23rd November 2007 (“the Convention”) in Northern Ireland. The Convention will be concluded by the European Union on a date yet to be determined by virtue of Council Decision 2011/432/EU (OJ No. L 192, 22.7.2011, pages 39 to 50). European Union Member States (apart from Denmark) are bound to apply the Convention by virtue of conclusion by the European Union. Regulation 3 designates the Department of Justice as Central Authority for Northern Ireland as required by Article 4 of the Convention. Regulation 4 and Schedule 1 make provision for the enforcement of maintenance decisions and maintenance arrangements made in Contracting States to the Convention by the courts of Northern Ireland. Provision is also made for the treatment by the Central Authority and by the courts of an application to establish maintenance received from the Central Authority of a Contracting State. Regulation 5 and Schedule 2 enable courts to which an application is made to enforce a maintenance decision under certain international instruments to do so by way of a driving disqualification order. For the courts of Northern Ireland, the power to impose driving disqualification is provided within the existing process for enforcement following a complaint under Article 98 of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Regulation 6 and Schedule 3 make provision to enable the Central Authorities for the Convention in Northern Ireland to request specific information from certain public bodies for use in recovery of maintenance in cases under the Convention. This power enables the Central Authorities to fulfil certain of their duties under the Convention (in particular, those under Article 6). The provisions broadly reflect those of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 relating to cross border maintenance matters between the Member States of the European Union, and the provision made in support of that Regulation in the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Maintenance) Regulations 2011 at Schedule 2. Regulation 7 and Schedule 4 make amendments to legislation consequential upon the application of the Convention in Northern Ireland. Regulation 8 and Schedule 5 make further minor amendments consequential on the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009.

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

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.

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