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Amendment of section 36 of Principal Act
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30. Section 36 of the Principal Act is amended—
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(a) in subsection (4)—
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(i) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (c):
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“(ca) the cohabitant of the relevant person,
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(cb) a child of the relevant person who has attained the age of 18 years,”,
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(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (g):
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“(g) an attorney or an attorney under the Act of 1996 for the relevant person,”,
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(iii) in paragraph (j)(ii), by the substitution of “person, and” for “person.”, and
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(iv) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (j):
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“(k) a person or body—
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(i) having reached the age of 18 years, if an individual, and
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(ii) having a bona fide interest in the welfare of relevant persons,
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as may be prescribed by the Minister by regulations.”,
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(b) in subsection (8)(b), by the substitution of “the court, having regard to the known will and preferences of the relevant person,” for “the court”,
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(c) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (10):
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“(10A) Nothing in this section shall operate to prohibit—
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(a) the preparation of a report of proceedings under this Part by—
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(i) a barrister or a solicitor, or
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(ii) a person falling within any other class of persons specified in regulations made under subsection (10B) for the purposes of this subsection,
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(b) the publication of a report prepared in accordance with paragraph (a), or
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(c) the publication of the decision of any court in such proceedings,
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in accordance with rules of court, provided that the report or decision does not contain any information that would enable the parties to the proceedings or any person to whom the proceedings relate to be identified and, accordingly, unless in the special circumstances of the matter the court, for reasons that shall be specified in the direction, otherwise directs, a person referred to in paragraph (a) may, for the purposes of preparing such a report—
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(i) attend the proceedings, and
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(ii) have access to any relevant court documents,
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subject to any directions the court may give in that behalf.
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(10B) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Justice, make regulations specifying a class of persons for the purposes of subsection (10A) if the Minister is satisfied that the publication of reports prepared in accordance with subsection (10A)(a) by persons falling within that class is likely to provide information that will assist in the better operation of this Act.”,
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and
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(d) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (11):
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“(12) In this section—
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(a) a reference to a spouse of a relevant person shall not include a person where, at the time at which the application is made under subsection (1)—
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(i) a decree of judicial separation has been granted to either the relevant person or his or her spouse by a court in the State or any decree has been so granted by a court outside the State and is recognised in the State as having like effect,
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(ii) a written agreement to separate has been entered into between the relevant person and his or her spouse, or
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(iii) subject to section 2(2), the relevant person and his or her spouse have separated and have ceased to cohabit for a continuous period of 12 months,
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(b) a reference to a civil partner of a relevant person shall not include a person where, at the time at which the application is made under subsection (1)—
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(i) a written agreement to separate has been entered into between the relevant person and his or her civil partner, or
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(ii) subject to section 2(2), the civil partners have separated and have ceased to cohabit for a continuous period of not less than 12 months,
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and
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(c) subject to section 2(2), a reference to a cohabitant of a relevant person shall not include a person where, at the time at which the application is made under subsection (1), the relevant person and his or her cohabitant have separated and have ceased to cohabit for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”.
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