17.—(4) Anything authorised or required by this Part of this Act to be done by, to or before the magistrates’ court by, to or before which any other thing was done may be done by, to or before any magistrates’ court acting in the same local justice area (or, in Northern Ireland, acting for the same petty sessions district) as that court.
(5A) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates’ court in England and Wales, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies, is residing in the United States of America, a magistrates’ court in England and Wales shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have such jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been residing in England and Wales
(6) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies, is residing in the United States of America, a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have such jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been residing in Northern Ireland.
(7) Where the respondent to an application for the variation of a maintenance order made by a magistrates’ court, and to which section 5 of this Act applies, does not appear at the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application, but the court is satisfied that the respondent is residing in the United States of America, and that the requirements of section 5(4) or (6) or section 9(2) and (4), as the case may be, have been complied with, the court may proceed to hear and determine the application at the time and place appointed for the hearing or for any adjourned hearing as if the respondent had appeared at that time and place.