The Civil Registration Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) In these Regulations —

“the 1976 Order” means the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976;

“the Act” means the Civil Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 2011;

“birth” does not include a still-birth;

“description”, in relation to a coroner, means his official designation and the area of his jurisdiction;

“maiden surname” means the surname under which a woman contracted her marriage or entered into a civil partnership (or, where she has married or entered into a civil partnership more than once, her first marriage or civil partnership);

“name”, in relation to a person, excludes a surname except in regulations 12, 13, 27 and 30;

“occupation” includes rank or profession;

“prescribed fee” means a fee prescribed under Article 47 of the 1976 Order, Articles 35(3) and 37 of the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, section 157 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 or paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009;

“the Record of Northern Ireland Connections” means the register maintained in accordance with section 31(1) of the Act;

“a relevant event” means an event mentioned in Schedule 1 to the Act;

“relevant period” means: in relation to information relating to a birth or the adoption of a child, the period of 100 years from the date of the child's birth; in relation to information relating to a death, the period of 50 years from the date of the death; in relation to information relating to a marriage or a civil partnership, the period of 75 years from the date the marriage was solemnised or the civil partnership was registered; in relation to information relating to presumed deaths, the period of 50 years from the presumed date of death;

“relevant register” means: a register of births or deaths, for which the 1976 Order provides, but not a register of still-births; the Adopted Children Register for which Article 50(1)(a) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 provides; any marriage registration record, for which the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 provides; any civil partnership registration record, for which the Civil Partnership Act 2004 provides; or the Register of Presumed Deaths, for which section 15(1) of the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 provides;

“remote search” means a search in a relevant register which is conducted by any person at a place other than the General Register Office or a Register Office using electronic communications;

“second female parent” means a woman who is a parent of a child by virtue of section 42 or 43 or, where appropriate, section 46(1) or (2) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008

“short birth certificate” means a certificate of birth issued under Article 40 of the 1976 Order;

“short death certificate” means a certificate of death issued under Article 40A of the 1976 Order;

“signature” or “sign” shall include the entering of a person's name in such manner as the Registrar General may direct;

“status” means marital or civil partnership status.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a numbered form shall be construed as a reference to the form bearing that number in Schedule 1; and any reference to a numbered space on a form shall be construed as a reference to the space bearing that number on the form.