The Child Support (Northern Ireland Reciprocal Arrangements) Regulations 1993

Part 1 Interpretation and General Provisions

1.  In this Memorandum, unless the context otherwise requires:

• “the Act” means the Child Support Act 1991 and “the Order” means the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

• “application”, for the purposes of Article 5, includes an application by an absent parent and an application under section 7 of the Act;

• “determining authority” means, in relation to Great Britain, a child support officer, a child support appeal tribunal, a Child Support Commissioner, or a tribunal consisting of any three of the Child Support Commissioners, and appointed or constituted under the Act, and, in relation to Northern Ireland, a child support officer or a child support appeal tribunal appointed or constituted under the Order, a Child Support Commissioner for Northern Ireland appointed under the Act or a tribunal consisting of any two or three of the Child Support Commissioners for Northern Ireland constituted under the Order;

• “parent with care” means a person who, in respect of the same child or children, is both a parent and a person with care;

• “territory” means Great Britain or Northern Ireland, as the case may be.

2.—(1) Unless the context otherwise requires, in the application of this Memorandum to a territory, expressions used in this Memorandum shall have the same respective meanings as in the Act, in relation to Great Britain, or in the Order, in relation to Northern Ireland.

(2) The rules for the construction of Acts of Parliament contained in the Interpretation Act 1978 shall apply for the purposes of the interpretation of this Memorandum as they apply for the purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament or statutory instrument.

3.—(1) Subject to Articles 5 to 12 of this Memorandum, the provision made for Great Britain and the provision made for Northern Ireland shall operate as a single system within the United Kingdom.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), all acts, omissions and events and in particular any application, declaration, direction, decision or order having effect for the provision made for Great Britain and having effect in that territory or for the provision made for Northern Ireland and having effect in that territory, shall have a corresponding effect for the purpose of the provision made for child support maintenance made in the other territory.

4.  Nothing in this Memorandum shall require the payment of a fee under the provision made for one territory if such a fee is paid or liable to be paid in the same circumstances under the provision made for the other territory.