The Family Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1993

Interest on, and remission of, arrears and supplementary provision for payment by instalments N.I.

9.—(1) After Article 86 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F1 there shall be inserted—

“Interest on arrears

86A.— (1) The Lord Chancellor may by order provide that a court of summary jurisdiction, on the hearing of a complaint for the enforcement, revocation, revival, variation or discharge of a Northern Ireland maintenance order, may order that interest of an amount calculated at the prescribed rate be paid on so much of the sum due under the order as the court may determine.

(2) In paragraph (1) “the prescribed rate” means such rate of interest as the Lord Chancellor may by order prescribe.

(3) An order under this Article may make provision for the manner in which and the periods by reference to which interest is to be calculated.

(4) Where, by virtue of paragraph (1), a court of summary jurisdiction orders the payment of interest on any sum due under a maintenance order—

(a) then if it orders that the whole or any part of the interest be paid by instalments that order shall be regarded as an instalments order for the purposes of Article 87 and that Article shall accordingly apply in relation to it; and

(b) the whole of the interest shall be enforceable as a sum adjudged to be paid by the maintenance order.

(5) In this Article—

• “Northern Ireland maintenance order” means—

  (a)

  a qualifying maintenance order made by a court of summary jurisdiction, other than an order made by virtue of Part II of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972; or

  (b)

  an order made by the High Court or a county court and registered under Part II of the Maintenance and Affiliation Orders Act (Nothern Ireland) 1966 in a court of summary jurisdiction;

• “qualifying maintenance order” has the same meaning as it has in Article 85.

(6) An order under this Article made by the Lord Chancellor shall be made with the concurrence of the Treasury and shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament in like manner as a statutory instrument and section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply accordingly.”.

(2) For Article 87 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F2 there shall be substituted—

“Remission of arrears and manner in which arrears to be paid

87.— (1) On the hearing of a complaint for the enforcement, revocation, revival, variation or discharge of a maintenance order made by a court of summary jurisdiction, a court of summary jurisdiction may remit the whole or any part of the sum due under the order.

(2) If, on the hearing of a complaint for the enforcement, revocation, revival, variation or discharge of a maintenance order made by a court of summary jurisdiction, a court of summary jurisdiction orders that the whole or any part of the sum due under the order be paid by instalments (an “instalments order”), then—

(a) if the maintenance order is a Northern Ireland maintenance order, the court shall at the same time exercise one of its powers under sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) of Article 85(3) in relation to the instalments order;

(b) if the maintenance order is a non-Northern Ireland maintenance order, the court shall at the same time exercise one of its powers under paragraph (3) in relation to the instalments order.

(3) The powers of the court referred to in paragraph (2)(b) are—

(a) the power to order that payments under the order be made directly to the collecting officer;

(b) the power to order that payments under the order be made to the collecting officer, by such method of payment falling within Article 85(7) as may be specified;

(c) the power to make an attachment of earnings order under Part IX to secure payments under the order.

(4) The court may in the course of any proceedings concerning an instalments order or the maintenance order made by a court of summary jurisdiction to which it relates vary the instalments order by exercising—

(a) in respect of a Northern Ireland maintenance order, one of the powers referred to in paragraph (2)(a);

(b) in respect of a non-Northern Ireland maintenance order, one of its powers under paragraph (3).

(5) In respect of a Northern Ireland maintenance order, paragraphs (5), (6) and (8) of Article 85 shall apply for the purposes of paragraphs (2)(a) and (4)(a) as they apply for the purposes of that Article.

(6) In respect of a non-Northern Ireland maintenance order—

(a) paragraph (5) of Article 85 shall apply for the purposes of paragraphs (2)(b) and (4)(b) as they apply for the purposes of that Article but as if for sub-paragraph (a) there were substituted—

“(a) the court proposes to exercise its power under sub-paragraph (b) of Article 87(3);” ; and

(b) in deciding which of the powers under paragraph (3) it is to exercise the court shall have regard to any representations made by the debtor (within the meaning of Article 85).

(7) In this Article—

• “maintenance order” has the same meaning as it has in Article 85;

• “Northern Ireland maintenance order” has the same meaning as it has in Article 86A;

• “non-Northern Ireland maintenance order” means—

  (a)

  a maintenance order registered in, or confirmed by, a court of summary jurisdiction—

  (i)

  under the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1920;

  (ii)

  under Part II of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950;

  (iii)

  under Part I of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972; or

  (iv)

  under Part I of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982;

  (b)

  an order made by the High Court in England and Wales or by the Court of Session in Scotland and registered in accordance with section 36 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 in a court of summary jurisdiction; or

  (c)

  a maintenance order made by a magistrates' court by virtue of Part II of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972.”.

(3) In Article 97 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F3 (power to order payment by instalments)—

(a) at the beginning there shall be inserted “(1)”;

(b) at the end there shall be added—

“(2) An order under this Article that a lump sum required to be paid under a maintenance order shall be paid by instalments (a “maintenance instalments order”) shall be treated for the purposes of Articles 85, 85B and 86 as a maintenance order.

(3) Paragraphs (6) and (8) of Article 85 (including those paragraphs as they apply for the purposes of Article 86) shall have effect in relation to a maintenance instalments order—

(a) as if in paragraph (6), sub-paragraph (c) and the word “and” immediately preceding it were omitted; and

(b) as if in paragraph (8)—

(i) the reference to the qualifying maintenance order were a reference to the maintenance order in respect of which the maintenance instalments order in question is made;

(ii) for the words “the person who applied for the maintenance order” there were substituted “the debtor”.

(4) Article 86 shall have effect in relation to a maintenance instalments order as if in paragraph (7) sub-paragraph (c) and the word “and” immediately preceding it were omitted.” .

F1 1981 NI 26

F2 1981 NI 26

F3 1981 NI 26