Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972

23 Maintenance order registered in High Court under the Maintenance Orders etc. Act 1920

(1) Where a country or territory, being a country or territory to which at the commencement of section 1 of this Act the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1920 extended, becomes a reciprocating country, then, if immediately before the Order in Council made under section 12 of that Act extending that Act to that country or territory was revoked any maintenance order made by a court in that country or territory was registered in the High Court under section 1 of that Act, the High Court may, on an application by the payer or the payee under the order or of its own motion, transfer the order to such magistrates' court as having regard to the place where the payer is residing and to all the circumstances it thinks most appropriate, with a view to the order being registered in that court under this Part of this Act.

(2) Where the High Court transfers an order to a magistrates' court under this section it shall—

(a) cause a certified copy of the order to be sent to the clerk of that court, and

(b) cancel the registration of the order in the High Court.

(3) The clerk of the court who receives a certified copy of an order sent to him under this section shall register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.

(4) On registering a maintenance order in a magistrates' court by virtue of this section the clerk of the court shall, if the order is registered in that court under Part I of the [1958 c. 39.] Maintenance Orders Act 1958, cancel that registration.

(5) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, for references to the High Court there shall be substituted references to the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.