Maintenance Act, 1994

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Application from reciprocating jurisdiction.

7.—(1) The Central Authority may, on receipt of an application for the recognition or enforcement in the State of a maintenance order which has been transmitted by a central authority of a reciprocating jurisdiction, send the application to the Master of the High Court for determination in accordance with section 5 of the Act of 1988.

(2) The Master shall consider the application privately and shall make an enforcement order unless it appears to the Master from the application and accompanying documents or from the Master's own knowledge that its recognition and enforcement are prohibited by the Brussels Convention or the Lugano Convention.

(3) The Master shall cause the decision on the request to be brought to the notice of the Central Authority and, if an enforcement order has been made, shall cause notice thereof to be served on the maintenance debtor.

(4) (a) The notice to be served on a maintenance debtor under subsection (3) shall include a statement of the provisions of Article 36 (right of appeal against enforcement order) of the Brussels Convention.

(b) Service of the notice may be effected personally or in any manner in which service of a superior court document within the meaning of section 23 of the Courts Act, 1971 , may be effected.

(5) The Master may—

(a) accept an application under subsection (1) as having been transmitted by the central authority of the reciprocating jurisdiction concerned, and

(b) accept the documents accompanying the application, namely—

(i) a request that the application be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Convention,

(ii) a letter delegating to the Central Authority authority to act, or cause action to be taken, on behalf of the maintenance creditor, including specific authority to enable enforcement proceedings to be taken,

(iii) a document containing the name, date of birth, nationality and description of the maintenance debtor and all other relevant information regarding the identity, whereabouts or location of the assets, of the maintenance debtor,

(iv) a document required under Article 46 or 47 of the Brussels Convention to be produced by a party seeking recognition or applying for enforcement of a judgment, and

(v) any translation of such a document,

as being such request, letter, document or translation, as the case may be.

(6) If any of the documents mentioned in subsection (5) (b) are not produced, the Master may allow time for their production, accept equivalent documents or, if the Master considers that there is sufficient information available, dispense with their production.

(7) The Central Authority may, on receipt of an application for the recognition or enforcement of an instrument or settlement referred to in Article 50 or 51 of the Brussels Convention which provides for the payment of maintenance and has been transmitted by a central authority of a reciprocating jurisdiction, apply to the High Court under Article 31 of that Convention for the recognition or enforcement of the whole or part of the instrument or settlement concerned.