Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments (Amendment) Act 2012

Amendment of Maintenance Act 1994.

2.— (1) The Maintenance Act 1994 is amended—

(a) in section 3(1) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002), by inserting the following definition:

“ ‘the 2007 Lugano Convention’ means the Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and the Protocols and Annexes thereto signed at Lugano on 30 October 2007;”;

(b) in section 4(2) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002) by substituting the following paragraphs for paragraph (a):

“(a) For the purposes of section 8 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1940 (as amended by section 63 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 ), the Acts of 1976, 1995, 1996 and 1998, the Brussels I Regulation, and the 2007 Lugano Convention, the Central Authority shall have authority to act on behalf of a maintenance creditor or of a claimant (as defined in section 13(1)), and references therein to a maintenance creditor or to such a claimant shall be construed as including references to that Authority.

(aa) In paragraph (a) ‘maintenance creditor’ means, in the context of the Brussels I Regulation or the 2007 Lugano Convention, a maintenance creditor referred to in Article 5(2) of that Regulation or Article 5(2) of that Convention.”;

(c) in section 5 (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002) by substituting “, the Brussels I Regulation and the 2007 Lugano Convention” for “and the Brussels I Regulation”;

(d) in section 6(1) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002), by substituting the following definition for that of “reciprocating jurisdiction”:

“ ‘reciprocating jurisdiction’ means a Contracting State within the meaning of the Act of 1998 or, as appropriate, a Member State to which the Brussels I Regulation applies or a state bound by the 2007 Lugano Convention;”;

(e) in section 6(2) (as amended by section 22(4)(c) of the Act of 1998) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade may by order declare that any Contracting State (as defined in sections 4(1) or 17(1) of the Act of 1998) or a state bound by the 2007 Lugano Convention specified in the order is a reciprocating jurisdiction.”;

(f) in section 6(3), by inserting “, Article 57 or 58 of the Brussels I Regulation or Article 57 or 58 of the 2007 Lugano Convention” after “Convention”;

(g) in section 7—

(i) in subsection (1) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002) by substituting “, the Brussels I Regulation or the 2007 Lugano Convention” for “or the Brussels I Regulation”,

(ii) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2A) (inserted by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002):

“(2A) In the case of an application under the Brussels I Regulation or the 2007 Lugano Convention the Master shall determine it in accordance with Regulation 4 of the European Communities (Civil and Commercial Judgments) Regulations 2002.”,

(iii) in subsection (4)(a) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002) by substituting “, Article 43 of the Brussels I Regulation or Article 43 of the 2007 Lugano Convention” for “or Article 43 (right of appeal against declaration of enforceability) of the Brussels I Regulation”,

(iv) in subsection (5)(a) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002) by deleting “or (2)” after “subsection (1)”, and

(v) in subsection (5)(b)(iv) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002), by substituting “, Articles 53, 54 or 57 of the Brussels I Regulation or Articles 53, 54 or 57 of the 2007 Lugano Convention” for “or Articles 53, 54 or 57 of the Brussels I Regulation”;

(h) in section 14—

(i) in subsection (1), by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (aa) (inserted by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002):

“(aa) if the request is accompanied by an order of a court of a Member State to which the Brussels I Regulation applies or by an order of a court of a state bound by the 2007 Lugano Convention, transmit the request to the Master of the High Court for determination in accordance with that Regulation or that Convention,”,

and

(ii) in subsection (9A)(a) (as amended by Regulation 13 of the Regulations of 2002), by substituting “the Brussels I Regulation or the 2007 Lugano Convention” for “or the Brussels I Regulation”.

(2) In this section “the Regulations of 2002” means the European Communities (Civil and Commercial Judgments) Regulations 2002 ( S.I. No. 52 of 2002 ).