Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930

Affiliation orders.

3.—(1) On the hearing by the District Court of a summons issued under this Act the Justice, if he is satisfied in accordance with this section that the alleged father of the illegitimate child (whether born alive or still-born) to whom such summons relates is the father of such child may make an order (in this Act called an affiliation order) adjudging such alleged father to be the putative father of such child and ordering such putative father to pay the expenses, as measured by the Justice, incidental to the birth of such child, and, where such child was born alive, such of the following moneys as may be appropriate, that is to say:—

(a) if such child has died before the making of such order, the funeral expenses, as measured by the Justice, of such child to an amount not exceeding five pounds, or

(b) such weekly sum not exceeding twenty shillings as the Justice shall fix for the maintenance and education of such child, or

(c) where the putative father so consents, a lump sum of such amount as shall be fixed by the Justice in commutation of any weekly sum which might otherwise be payable under this Act by such putative father in respect of such child.

(2) No Justice of the District Court shall be satisfied that a person is the putative father of an illegitimate child without hearing the evidence of the mother of such child and also evidence corroborative in some material particular or particulars of the evidence of such mother.

(3) Where a Justice of a District Court by an affiliation order orders the putative father of an illegitimate child to pay a weekly sum in respect of such child he may attach such conditions as he shall think proper to the payment or to the receipt of such weekly sum.

(4) The provisions of this Act relating to the fixing of the amount of a lump sum paid in commutation of a weekly sum payable under an affiliation order and the payment, administration, and application of such lump sum shall apply to the fixing, payment, administration and application of a lump sum made payable by an affiliation order in commutation of any weekly sum which might otherwise be payable.

(5) On the hearing of any case under this Act in the District Court or on appeal in the Circuit Court, the Judge shall order the exclusion from the Court of all persons other than the parties, their counsel or solicitors, the mother or other female relative or friend of the applicant, the officers of the Court, the witnesses in the case and any bona fide representatives of a newspaper or news agency.

(6) It shall not be lawful to print or publish or cause or procure to be printed or published any report, statement, commentary or other matter of or in relation to any judicial proceedings for the grant of an affiliation order save and except all or any of the following particulars of such proceedings, that is to say:—

(a) the names of the parties;

(b) the Court in which and the Judge before whom the proceedings were tried and the names of the solicitors and counsel professionally engaged in the proceedings;

(c) a concise statement of the charges, defences and counter-charges in support of which evidence was given;

(d) particulars of any point of law raised and discussed in the proceedings and the decision of the Court thereon;

(e) the decision of the Court and the observations of the Judge when pronouncing his decision.

(7) Nothing in this section shall apply—

(a) to the printing of any pleading, transcript of evidence or other document for use in connection with any judicial proceedings, or the communication thereof to persons concerned in the proceedings, or

(b) to the printing and publishing of any order, notice or report in pursuance of the directions of the Court, or

(c) to the printing or publishing of any matter in any separate volume or part of any bona fide series of law reports which does not form part of any other publication and consists solely of reports of proceedings in Courts of law, or in any publication of a technical character bona fide intended for circulation among members of the legal profession or medical profession.

(8) If any person being the proprietor, editor or publisher of any book or periodical publication, or being a master printer engaged in the printing of such book or publication, prints or publishes or causes, procures or permits to be printed or published therein in contravention of any of the provisions of this section any matter, details or particulars in relation to any judicial proceedings, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds or at the discretion of the Court to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(9) Every prosecution for an offence under this section shall be brought at the suit and in the name of the Attorney-General.