6.—(1) This section applies to a maintenance order made, whether before, on or after 1st October 2007, by a court in the United States of America.
(2) Where a certified copy of an order to which this section applies is received by the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers from the responsible authority in the United States of America, and it appears to him (or to them) that the payer under the order is residing or has assets in the United Kingdom, he (or they) shall send the copy of the order to the prescribed officer of the appropriate court.
(3) Where the prescribed officer of the appropriate court receives from the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers a certified copy of an order to which this section applies, the officer shall, subject to subsection (4) below, register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.
(4) Before registering an order under this section an officer of a court shall take such steps as he thinks fit for the purpose of ascertaining whether the payer under the order is residing or has assets within the jurisdiction of the court, and if after taking those steps the officer is satisfied that the payer is not residing and has no assets within the jurisdiction of the court, the officer shall return the certified copy of the order to the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers, as the case may be, with a statement giving such information as the officer possesses as to the whereabouts of the payer and the nature and location of his assets.
8.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a registered order may be enforced in the United Kingdom as if it had been made by the registering court and as if that court had had jurisdiction to make it; and proceedings for or with respect to the enforcement of any such order may be taken accordingly.
(2) Subsection (1) above does not apply to an order which is for the time being registered in the High Court under Part I of the Maintenance Orders Act 1958 or to an order which is for the time being registered in the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland under Part II of the Maintenance and Affiliation Orders Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.
(3) Any person for the time being under an obligation to make payments in pursuance of a registered order shall give notice of any change of address to the appropriate officer of the registering court, and any person failing without reasonable excuse to give such a notice shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
(3A) In subsection (3) above “appropriate officer” means—
(a)in relation to a magistrates’ court in England and Wales, the designated officer for the court;
(b)in relation to a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland, the collecting officer of the court, being the officer mentioned in Article 85(4) of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981; and
(c)in relation to a court elsewhere, the clerk of the court.
(4) An order which by virtue of this section is enforceable by a magistrates’ court shall, subject to the modifications of sections 76 and 93 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 specified in subsections (4A) and (4B) below, and subject to the modifications of Article 98 of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 specified in subsection (4C) below, be enforceable as if it were a magistrates’ courts maintenance order made by that court.
In this subsection “magistrates’ court maintenance order” has the same meaning as in section 150(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.
(4A) Section 76 (enforcement of sums adjudged to be paid) shall have effect as if for subsections (4) to (6) there were substituted the following subsections—
“(4) Where proceedings are brought for the enforcement of a magistrates’ court maintenance order under this section, the court may vary the order by exercising one of its powers under subsection (5) below.
(5) The powers of the court are—
(a)the power to order that payments under the order be made directly to the designated officer for the court or for any other magistrates’ court;
(b)the power to order that payments under the order be made to the designated officer for the court or for any other magistrates’ court] by such method of payment falling within section 59(6) above (standing order, etc) as may be specified;
(c)the power to make an attachment of earnings order under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 to secure payments under the order.
(6) In deciding which of the powers under subsection (5) above it is to exercise, the court shall have regard to any representations made by the debtor (within the meaning of section 59 above).
(7) Subsection (4) of section 59 above (power of court to require debtor to open account) shall apply for the purposes of subsection (5) above as it applies for the purposes of that section but as if for paragraph (a) there were substituted—
“(a)the court proposes to exercise its power under paragraph (b) of section 76(5) below, and”.”
(4B) In section 93 (complaint for arrears), subsection (6) (court not to impose imprisonment in certain circumstances) shall have effect as if for paragraph (b) there were substituted—
“(b)if the court is of the opinion that it is appropriate—
(i)to make an attachment of earnings order; or
(ii)to exercise its power under paragraph (b) of section 76(5) above.”
(4C) Article 98 of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (enforcement of orders for periodical payment of money) shall have effect—
(a)as if for paragraph (7)(a) there were substituted the following paragraph—
“(a)if the court is of the opinion that it is appropriate—
(i)to make an attachment of earnings order; or
(ii)to exercise its power under paragraph (8C)(b)”;”
(b)as if for paragraphs (8B) to (8D) there were substituted the following paragraphs—
“(8B) Upon the appearance of a person or proof of service of the summons on him as mentioned in paragraph (4) for the enforcement of an order to which this Article applies, the court or resident magistrate may vary the order by exercising one of the powers under paragraph (8C).
(8C) The powers mentioned in paragraph (8B) 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) (standing order, etc) as may be specified;
(c)the power to make an attachment of earnings order under Part IX to secure payments under the order.
(8D) In deciding which of the powers under paragraph (8C) is to be exercised, the court or, as the case may be, a resident magistrate shall have regard to any representations made by the debtor (within the meaning of Article 85).
(8E) Paragraph (5) of Article 85 (power of court to require debtor to open account) shall apply for the purposes of paragraph (8C) as it applies 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 98(8C), and”.”
(5) The magistrates’ court by which an order is enforceable by virtue of this section, and the officers thereof, shall take all such steps for enforcing or facilitating the enforcement of the order as may be prescribed.
(6) In any proceedings for or with respect to the enforcement of an order which is for the time being registered in any court under this Part of this Act a certificate of arrears sent to the prescribed officer of the court shall be evidence of the facts stated therein.
(7) Sums of money payable under a registered order shall be payable in accordance with the order as from the date on which the order was made.
(8) In the application of this section to Scotland—
(a)subsections (2) to (5) shall be omitted; and
(b)in subsection (6), for the word “evidence” there shall be substituted the words “sufficient evidence”.
9.—(1) Where a registered order has been varied by a court in the United States of America, the registered order shall, as from the date on which the order of variation took effect or 1st October 2007, whichever is the later, have effect as varied by that order.
(2) Where a registered order has been revoked by a court in the United States of America, the registered order shall, as from the date on which the order of revocation took effect or 1st October 2007, whichever is the later, be deemed to have ceased to have effect.
(3) Where an order has been varied or revoked in accordance with subsections (1) and (2), above, unless provided for in the order, any arrears due shall continue to be recoverable as if the order for variation or revocation had not been made.
(4) The prescribed officer of the registering court shall register in the prescribed manner any order varying a registered order.
10.—(1) Where a registered order is revoked by an order made by a court in the United States of America and notice of the revocation is received by the registering court, the prescribed officer of the registering court shall cancel the registration; but any arrears due under the registered order at the date on which the order of revocation took effect, shall continue to be recoverable as if the registration had not been cancelled.
(2) Where the prescribed officer of the registering court is of opinion that the payer under a registered order is not residing within the jurisdiction of that court and has no assets within that jurisdiction against which the order can be effectively enforced, he shall cancel the registration of the order and, subject to subsection (3) below, shall send the certified copy of the order to the Lord Chancellor.
(3) Where the prescribed officer of the registering court, being a magistrates’ court, is of opinion that the payer is residing or has assets within the jurisdiction of another magistrates’ court in that part of the United Kingdom in which the registering court is, he shall transfer the order to that other court by sending the certified copy of the order to the prescribed officer of that other court.
(4) On the transfer of an order under subsection (3) above the prescribed officer of the court to which it is transferred shall, subject to subsection (6) below, register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.
(5) Where the certified copy of an order is received by the Lord Chancellor under this section and it appears to him that the payer under the order is residing or has assets in the United Kingdom, he shall transfer the order to the appropriate court by sending the certified copy of the order together with the related documents to the prescribed officer of the appropriate court and, subject to subsection (6) below, that officer shall register the order in the prescribed manner in that court.
(6) Before registering an order in pursuance of subsection (4) or (5) above an officer of a court shall take such steps as he thinks fit for the purpose of ascertaining whether the payer is residing or has assets within the jurisdiction of the court, and if after taking those steps he is satisfied that the payer is not residing and has no assets within the jurisdiction of the court he shall send the certified copy of the order to the Lord Chancellor.
(7) The officer of a court who is required by any of the foregoing provisions of this section to send to the Lord Chancellor or to the prescribed officer of another court the certified copy of an order shall send with that copy—
(a)a certificate of arrears signed by him or, in Scotland, by the applicant or his solicitor;
(b)a statement giving such information as he possesses as to the whereabouts of the payer and the nature and location of his assets; and
(c)any relevant documents in his possession relating to the case.
(8) In the application of this section to Scotland—
(a)in subsection (2), for the words “within the jurisdiction of that court” there shall be substituted the words “in Scotland”;
(b)subsections (3) and (4) shall be omitted; and
(c)for the words “Lord Chancellor”, in each place where they occur, there shall be substituted the words “Scottish Ministers”; and, for “him” and “he”, “them” and “they”.
11.—(1) If at any time it appears to the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers that the payer under a maintenance order, a certified copy of which has been received by him from the United States of America, is not residing and has no assets in the United Kingdom, he (or they) shall send to the responsible authority in the United States of America or, if having regard to all the circumstances he thinks (or they think) it proper to do so, to the responsible authority in another reciprocating country—
(a)the certified copy of the order in question and a certified copy of any order varying that order;
(b)if the order has at any time been a registered order, a certificate of arrears signed by the prescribed officer or, in Scotland, by the applicant or his solicitor;
(c)a statement giving such information as the Lord Chancellor possesses, or the Scottish Ministers possess, as to the whereabouts of the payer and the nature and location of his assets; and
(d)any other relevant documents in his (or their) possession relating to the case.
(2) Where the documents mentioned in subsection (1) are sent to the responsible authority in a reciprocating country other than that in which the order in question was made, the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers shall inform the responsible authority in the reciprocating country in which that order was made of what he has (or they have) done.