The Judgment Enforcement Fees (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2007 No. 380

Judgments (enforcement)

The Judgment Enforcement Fees (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

Made

30th August 2007

Coming into operation

24th September 2007

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 116(1) and (1A) of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978(1), after consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and with the concurrence of the Treasury, hereby makes the following Order:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.  This Order may be cited as the Judgment Enforcement Fees (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 and shall come into operation on 24th September 2007.

2.—(1) In this Order “the principal Order” means the Judgment Enforcement Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996(2); and

(2) The fee referred to by number means the fee so numbered in the Schedule to the principal Order.

Amendments to the principal Order

3.  After Article 8 of the principal Order insert the following new Articles—

“Exemptions and refunds

9.— (1) No fee shall be payable under this Order by a party who, at the time when a fee would otherwise become payable—

(a) is in receipt of any qualifying benefit, and

(b) is not in receipt of legal aid under Part II of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(3) for the purposes of the proceedings.

(2) The following are qualifying benefits for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) above—

(a) income support under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(4);

(b) income-based jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(5);

(c) guarantee credit under the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002(6);

(d) working tax credit, provided that—

(i) child tax credit is being paid to the party or otherwise following a claim for child tax credit made jointly by the members of a married couple or an unmarried couple (as defined respectively in section 3(5) and (6) of the Tax Credits Act 2002(7)) which includes the party; or

(ii) there is a disability element or severe disability element (or both) to the tax credit received by the party;

and that the gross annual income taken into account for the calculation of the working tax credit is £16,017 or less.

10.— (1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a fee has been paid at a time—

(a) when, under Article 9, it was not payable, the fee shall be refunded;

(b) where the Lord Chancellor, if he had been aware of all the circumstances, would have reduced the fee, the amount by which the fee would have been reduced shall be refunded; and

(c) where the Lord Chancellor, if he had been aware of all the circumstances, would have remitted the fee under Article 7, the fee shall be refunded.

(2) No refund shall be made under paragraph (1) unless the party who paid the fee applies within 6 months of paying the fee.

(3) The Lord Chancellor may extend the period of 6 months referred to in paragraph (2) if he considers that there is good reason for an application being made after the end of the period of 6 months.”.

Fees to be taken in the Enforcement of Judgments Office

4.  In Part I of the Schedule to the principal Order—

(a) for Fee No. 3 substitute the following new fee—

“3.   On lodging an application under Article 23(1) of the Order, including one copy of the report: for each respondent £150.00”;

(b) for Fee No. 7 substitute the following new fee—

“7.— (1) On an application for a search in the register of judgments £8.00

(2) Additional payment where the search is carried out by an officer of the court £10.00”;

(c) for Fee No. 8 substitute the following new fee—

“8.   On a copy document

(a) 5 sheets or less – £5.00

(b) for each sheet thereafter – £0.50”; and

(d) for Fee No.9 substitute the following new fee—

“9.   For a Certificate of Satisfaction – £15.00”.

Signed by the authority of the Lord Chancellor

Bridget Prentice

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Ministry of Justice

Dated 16th August 2007

We concur

Steve McCabe

Claire Ward

Two of the Lords Commissioners

of Her Majesty’s Treasury

Dated 30th August 2007

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Judgment Enforcement Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 so as to—

(a) introduce a new fee at Article 4(b) where a search is carried out by an officer of the court;

(b) increase a number of fees; and

(c) provide for exemptions from fees payable in the circumstances as outlined in Article 3 and refunds where appropriate.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the costs and benefits of this Order (and other Orders relating to court fees) was placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and is available on the Court Service’s web-site at www.courtsni.gov.uk.

(1)

1978 c. 23 as amended by the Courts Act 2003 (c. 39)

(2)

S.R. 1996 No. 101 as amended by S.R. 1998 No. 411 and S.R. 2004 No. 341

(3)

S.I. 1981/228 (N.I. 8)

(4)

1992 c. 7

(5)

S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I. 15)

(6)

2002 c. 14

(7)

2002 c. 21