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

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Applications for establishment or modification of maintenance in England and WalesE+W

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7.—(1) Upon receipt of an application submitted under Article 10 for establishment or modification of a decision, the Lord Chancellor shall send that application to [F1the court officer of the family court in [F2the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre for the area]] in which the respondent is residing.

(2) Upon receipt of the application under sub-paragraph (1), the [F3court officer] of that court shall decide—

(a)whether the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction to determine the application by virtue of F4... Schedule 6 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Maintenance) Regulations 2011 M1; and

[F5(b)if so, whether the family court has the power to make the decision or modification sought under the law in force in England and Wales.]

(3) Where the [F6court officer] decides under sub-paragraph (2)(a) that the courts of England and Wales do not have jurisdiction to determine the application, the [F6court officer] shall return the application to the Lord Chancellor with a written explanation of the reasons for that decision.

F7(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) Subject to sub-paragraph (6), if the [F8court officer] decides under sub-paragraph (2)(b) that the [F9family court] has power to make the decision or modification sought, the [F8court officer] shall issue the application and serve it on the respondent.

(6) If the respondent does not [F10reside in the area covered by the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre] [F11to which the application has been sent, the court officer] shall—

(a)if satisfied that the respondent is residing within [F12the area covered by another Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre], send the application to the [F13court officer of the family court] in [F14the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre for] that other area and inform the Lord Chancellor that it has been so sent; or

(b)if unable to establish where the respondent is residing, return the application to the Lord Chancellor.

(7) A [F15court officer] who receives an application by virtue of sub-paragraph (6)(a) shall proceed under sub-paragraph (5) as if that [F15court officer] had decided that the [F16family court] has power to make the decision or modification sought.

(8) Where the [F17court officer] has determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (2)(b) that the [F18family court] has power to make the decision or modification sought, the application shall be treated for the purpose of establishment or modification of a decision under the [F19law in force in England and Wales.]

(9) In this paragraph—

“respondent” means the person who is alleged in an application for establishment of a decision under Article 10 to owe maintenance, or where the application is for modification of a decision, the applicant for the original decision; and a reference to an application is a reference to an application together with any documents which accompany it.

Textual Amendments

F1Words in Sch. 1 para. 7(1) substituted (22.4.2014) by The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Family Court: Consequential Provision) (No.2) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/879), arts. 1(1), 140(a)

F2Words in Sch. 1 para. 7(1) substituted (31.7.2015) by The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Maintenance) and International Recovery of Maintenance (Hague Convention 2007 etc) (Amendment) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1489), arts. 1(3), 4(a)

F3Words in Sch. 1 para. 7(2) substituted (22.4.2014) by The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Family Court: Consequential Provision) (No.2) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/879), arts. 1(1), 140(b)(i)

F4Words in Sch. 1 para. 7(2)(a) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Jurisdiction and Judgments (Family) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/519), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 39(7)(c) (with reg. 8) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1574, regs. 1, 5(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)