PART II

The 1968 Convention and the Accession Conventions

4. —(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

“Contracting State” means a state—

(a) which is—

(i) one of the original parties to the 1968 Convention (Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), or

(ii) one of the parties acceding to the 1968 Convention under any of the Accession Conventions (the State, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden), and

(b) respecting which—

(i) the 1978 Accession Convention has entered into force in accordance with Article 39 of that Convention,

(ii) the 1982 Accession Convention has entered into force in accordance with Article 15 of that Convention,

(iii) the 1989 Accession Convention has entered into force in accordance with Article 32 of that Convention, or

(iv) the 1996 Accession Convention has entered into force in accordance with Article 16 of that Convention,

as the case may be;

“the Conventions” means the 1968 Convention, the 1971 Protocol and the Accession Conventions;

“enforceable maintenance order” means—

(a) a maintenance order respecting all of which an enforcement order has been made, or

(b) if an enforcement order has been made respecting only part of a maintenance order, the maintenance order to the extent to which it is so ordered to be enforced;

“enforcement order” means an order for the recognition or enforcement of all or part of a judgment where the order—

(a) is made by the Master of the High Court under section 7 , or

(b) is made or varied on appeal from a decision of the Master of the High Court under section 7 or from a decision of the High Court relating to the Master’s decision;

“judgment” means a judgment or order (by whatever name called) that is a judgment for the purposes of the 1968 Convention, and, except in sections 10 , 12 and 14 , includes—

(a) an instrument or settlement referred to in Title IV of the 1968 Convention, and

(b) an arrangement relating to maintenance obligations concluded with or authenticated by an administrative authority, as referred to in Article 10 of the 1996 Accession Convention;

“maintenance” means maintenance within the meaning of the Conventions;

“maintenance creditor” means, in relation to a maintenance order, the person entitled to the payments for which the order provides;

“maintenance debtor” means, in relation to a maintenance order, the person liable to make payments under the order;

“maintenance order” means a judgment relating to maintenance.

(2) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may, by order, declare—

(a) that any state specified in the order is a Contracting State, or

(b) that a declaration has been made pursuant to Article IV of the 1968 Convention, or a communication has been made pursuant to Article VI of that Convention, to the Secretary General of the Council of the European Communities.

(3) The text of a declaration or communication referred to in subsection (2)(b) shall be set out in the order declaring that the declaration or communication has been made.

(4) An order that is in force under subsection (2) is—

(a) if made under subsection (2)(a), evidence that any state to which the declaration relates is a Contracting State, and

(b) if made under subsection (2)(b), evidence that the declaration pursuant to Article IV or the communication pursuant to Article VI was made and evidence of its contents.

(5) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may, by order, amend or revoke an order made under subsection (2) or this subsection.

5. —The Conventions shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken of them.

6. —(1) Judicial notice shall be taken of—

(a) a ruling or decision of, or expression of opinion by, the European Court on any question about the meaning or effect of a provision of the Conventions, and

(b) the reports listed in subsection (2).

(2) When interpreting a provision of the Conventions, a court may consider the following reports (which are reproduced in the Official Journal of the European Communities) and shall give them the weight that is appropriate in the circumstances:

(a) the reports by Mr. P. Jenard on the 1968 Convention and the 1971 Protocol1 ;

(b) the report by Professor Peter Schlosser on the 1978 Accession Convention² ;

(c) the report by Professor Demetrios Evrigenis and Professor K. D. Kerameus on the accession of the Hellenic Republic to the 1968 Convention and the 1971 Protocol3 ;

(d) the report by Mr. Almeida Cruz, Mr. Desantes Real and Mr. P. Jenard on the 1989 Accession Convention4 .

7. —(1) An application under the Conventions for the recognition or enforcement in the State of a judgment shall—

(a) be made to the Master of the High Court, and

(b) be determined by the Master by order in accordance with the Conventions.

(2) An order made by the Master of the High Court under subsection (1) may include an order for the recognition or enforcement of only part of a judgment.

8. —(1) Subject to section 10 (4) and to the restrictions on enforcement contained in Article 39 of the 1968 Convention, if an enforcement order has been made respecting a judgment—

(a) the judgment shall, to the extent to which its enforcement is authorised by the enforcement order, be of the same force and effect as a judgment of the High Court, and

(b) the High Court has the same powers respecting enforcement of the judgment, and proceedings may be taken on the judgment, as if it were a judgment of that Court.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (6), subsection (1) shall apply only to a judgment other than a maintenance order.

(3) On application by the maintenance creditor under an enforceable maintenance order, the Master of the High Court may, by order, declare that the following shall be regarded as being payable under a judgment referred to in subsection (1):

(a) sums which were payable under the maintenance order as periodic payments but were not paid before the relevant enforcement order was made;

(b) a lump sum (not being a sum referred to in paragraph (a)) which is payable under the enforceable maintenance order.

(4) A declaration shall not be made under subsection (3) unless the Master of the High Court considers that by doing so the enforceable maintenance order would be more effectively enforced respecting any sums or sum referred to in that subsection.

(5) If a declaration is made under subsection (3), the sums or sum to which the declaration relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Part, to be payable under a judgment referred to in subsection (1) and not otherwise.

(6) A maintenance order shall be regarded as a judgment referred to in subsection (1) if the District Court does not have jurisdiction to enforce the order under section 9 (7).

9. —(1) Subject to section 10 (4) and to the restrictions on enforcement contained in Article 39 of the 1968 Convention, the District Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce an enforceable maintenance order.

(2) An enforceable maintenance order shall, from the date on which the maintenance order was made, be deemed for the purposes of—

(a) subsection (1),

(b) section 98 (1) of the Defence Act, 1954 , and

(c) subject to the 1968 Convention, the variation or discharge of that order under section 6 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , as amended by the Status of Children Act, 1987 ,

to be an order made by the District Court under section 5 or section 5A or 21A (inserted by the Status of Children Act, 1987 ) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , as may be appropriate.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply even though an amount payable under the enforceable maintenance order exceeds the maximum amount the District Court has jurisdiction to award under the appropriate enactment mentioned in subsection (2).

(4) Where an enforceable maintenance order is varied by a court in a Contracting State other than the State and an enforcement order has been made respecting all or part of the enforceable maintenance order as so varied, or respecting all or part of the order effecting the variation, the enforceable maintenance order shall, from the date on which the variation takes effect, be enforceable in the State only as so varied.

(5) Where an enforceable maintenance order is revoked by a court in a Contracting State other than the State and an enforcement order has been made respecting the order effecting the revocation, the enforceable maintenance order shall, from the date on which the revocation takes effect, cease to be enforceable in the State except in relation to any sums under the order that were payable, but were not paid, on or before that date.

(6) Subject to section 8 (3) to (5) of this Act, the following shall be regarded as being payable pursuant to an order made under section 5 or section 5A or 21A (inserted by the Status of Children Act, 1987 ) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 :

(a) any sums that were payable under an enforceable maintenance order but were not paid before the date of the making of the relevant enforcement order;

(b) any costs of or incidental to the application for the enforcement order that are payable under section 10 (2) of this Act.

(7) The jurisdiction vested in the District Court by this section may be exercised by the judge of that Court for the time being assigned to—

(a) if the maintenance debtor under an enforceable maintenance order resides in the State, the district court district in which the debtor resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation, or

(b) if the maintenance debtor under an enforceable maintenance order does not reside in the State but is in the employment of an individual residing or having a place of business in the State or of a corporation or association having its seat in the State, the district court district in which that individual resides or that corporation or association has its seat.

(8) Despite anything to the contrary in an enforceable maintenance order, the maintenance debtor shall pay any sum payable under that order to—

(a) in the case referred to in subsection (7)(a), the district court clerk for the district court district in which the debtor for the time being resides, or

(b) in a case referred to in subsection (7)(b), a district court clerk specified by the District Court,

for transmission to the maintenance creditor under the order or, if a public authority has been authorised by the creditor to receive that sum, to that authority.

(9) If a sum payable under an enforceable maintenance order is not duly paid and if the maintenance creditor under the order so requests in writing, the district court clerk concerned shall make an application respecting that sum under—

(a) section 10 (which relates to the attachment of certain earnings) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , or

(b) section 8 (which relates to the enforcement of certain maintenance orders) of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 .

(10) For the purposes of subsection (9)(b), a reference in section 8 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 (other than in subsections (4) and (5) of that section) to an applicant shall be construed as a reference to the district court clerk.

(11) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of a maintenance creditor under an enforceable maintenance order to institute proceedings for the recovery of a sum payable to a district court clerk under subsection (8).

(12) Section 8 (7) of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 , does not apply to proceedings for the enforcement of an enforceable maintenance order.

(13) The maintenance debtor under an enforceable maintenance order shall give notice to the district court clerk for the district court area in which the debtor has been residing of any change of address.

(14) A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (13) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(15) If there are two or more district court clerks for a district court area, a reference in this section to a district court clerk shall be construed as a reference to any of those clerks.

(16) For the purposes of this section, the Dublin Metropolitan Area shall be deemed to be a district court area.

10. —(1) Where, on application for an enforcement order respecting a judgment, it is shown—

(a) that the judgment provides for the payment of a sum of money, and

(b) that, in accordance with the law of the Contracting State in which the judgment was given, interest on that sum is recoverable under the judgment at a particular rate or rates and from a particular date or time,

the enforcement order, if made, shall provide that the person liable to pay that sum shall also be liable to pay that interest, apart from any interest on costs recoverable under subsection (2), in accordance with the particulars noted in the order, and the interest shall be recoverable by the applicant as though it were part of that sum.

(2) An enforcement order may, at the discretion of the court concerned or the Master of the High Court, as may be appropriate, provide for the payment to the applicant by the respondent of the reasonable costs of or incidental to the application for the enforcement order.

(3) A person required by an enforcement order to pay costs shall be liable to pay interest on the costs as if they were the subject of an order for the payment of costs made by the High Court on the date the enforcement order was made.

(4) Interest shall be payable on a sum referred to in subsection (1) only as provided for in this section.

11. —(1) An amount payable in the State under a maintenance order by virtue of an enforcement order shall be paid in the currency of the State.

(2) If the amount referred to in subsection (1) is stated in the maintenance order in a currency other than that of the State, the payment shall be made on the basis of the exchange rate prevailing, on the date the enforcement order is made, between the currency of the State and the other currency.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of an authorised institution and to state the exchange rate prevailing on a specified date between a specified currency and the currency of the State shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

(4) In this section, “authorised institution” means any of the following:

(a) a body licensed under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1998, or authorised under regulations made under the European Communities Act, 1972 , to carry on banking business;

(b) a building society incorporated or deemed to be incorporated under section 10 of the Building Societies Act, 1989 ;

(c) a society licensed under section 10 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989 , to carry on the business of a trustee savings bank;

(d) An Post;

(e) ACC Bank public limited company;

(f) ICC Bank public limited company.

12. —(1) For the purposes of the Conventions—

(a) a document that is duly authenticated and purports to be a copy of a judgment given by a court of a Contracting State other than the State shall, without further proof, be deemed to be a true copy of the judgment, unless the contrary is shown, and

(b) the original or any copy of a document mentioned in Article 46.2 or 47 of the 1968 Convention shall be admissible as evidence of any matter to which the document relates.

(2) A document purporting to be a copy of a judgment given by a court of a Contracting State, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be regarded as being duly authenticated if it purports—

(a) to bear the seal of that court, or

(b) to be certified by a judge or officer of that court to be a true copy of a judgment given by that court.

(3) A document shall be admissible as evidence of a translation if—

(a) it purports to be the translation of—

(i) a judgment given by a court of a Contracting State other than the State,

(ii) a document mentioned in Article 46.2, 47 or 50 of the 1968 Convention, or

(iii) a document containing a settlement referred to in Article 51 of the 1968 Convention or containing an arrangement referred to in Article 10 of the 1996 Accession Convention, and

(b) it is certified as correct by a person competent to do so.

13. —(1) On application pursuant to Article 24 of the 1968 Convention, the High Court may grant any provisional, including protective, measures of any kind that the Court has power to grant in proceedings that, apart from this Act, are within its jurisdiction, if—

(a) proceedings have been or are to be commenced in a Contracting State other than the State, and

(b) the subject matter of the proceedings is within the scope of the 1968 Convention as determined by Article 1 (whether or not that Convention has effect in relation to the proceedings).

(2) On an application under subsection (1), the High Court may refuse to grant the measures sought if, in its opinion, the fact that, apart from this section, that Court does not have jurisdiction in relation to the subject matter of the proceedings makes it inexpedient for it to grant those measures.

(3) Subject to Article 39 of the 1968 Convention, an application to the Master of the High Court for an enforcement order respecting a judgment may include an application for any protective measures the High Court has power to grant in proceedings that, apart from this Act, are within its jurisdiction.

(4) Where an enforcement order is made, the Master of the High Court shall grant any protective measures referred to in subsection (3) that are sought in the application for the enforcement order.

14. —If a judgment is given by a court in the State, the registrar or clerk of that court shall, at the request of an interested party and subject to any conditions that may be specified by rules of court, give to the interested party—

(a) a duly authenticated copy of the judgment,

(b) a certificate signed by the registrar or clerk of the court stating—

(i) the nature of the proceedings,

(ii) the grounds, pursuant to the 1968 Convention, on which the court assumed jurisdiction,

(iii) the date on which the time for lodging an appeal against the judgment will expire or, if it has expired, the date on which it expired,

(iv) whether notice of appeal against, or, if the judgment was given in default of appearance, notice to set aside, the judgment has been entered,

(v) if the judgment is for the payment of a sum of money, the rate of interest, if any, payable on the sum and the date from which interest is payable, and

(vi) any other particulars that may be specified by rules of court, and

(c) if the judgment was given in default of appearance, the original or a copy, certified by the registrar or clerk of the court to be a true copy, of a document establishing that notice of the institution of proceedings was served on the person in default.

15. —(1) In order to determine for the purposes of the 1968 Convention and this Part whether an individual is domiciled in the State, in a place in the State or in a state other than a Contracting State, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Part I of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the English language of the 1968 Convention;

(b) Part II of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the Irish language of the 1968 Convention.

(2) The seat of a corporation or association shall be treated as its domicile and in order to determine for the purposes of Article 53 of the 1968 Convention and this Part whether a corporation or association has its seat in the State, in a place in the State or in a state other than a Contracting State, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Part III of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the English language of the 1968 Convention;

(b) Part IV of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the Irish language of the 1968 Convention.

(3) In order to determine for the purposes of the 1968 Convention and this Part whether a trust is domiciled in the State the following provisions shall apply:

(a) Part V of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the English language of the 1968 Convention;

(b) Part VI of the Ninth Schedule , in relation to the text in the Irish language of the 1968 Convention.

(4) In this section—

“association” means an unincorporated body of persons;

“corporation” means a body corporate.

16. —(1) Subject to Title II of the 1968 Convention, the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court respecting proceedings that may be instituted in the State by virtue of Article 2, 8.1, 11, 14 or 16(1)(b) of that Convention shall be exercised by the judge of that Court for the time being assigned to the circuit where the defendant, or one of the defendants, ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply where, apart from that subsection, the Circuit Court's jurisdiction would be determined by reference to the place where the defendant resides or carries on business.

(3) The jurisdiction of the Circuit Court or District Court respecting proceedings that may be instituted in the State by virtue of Article 14 of the 1968 Convention by a plaintiff domiciled in the State may be exercised as follows:

(a) in the case of the Circuit Court, by the judge of the Circuit Court for the time being assigned to the circuit where the plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation;

(b) in the case of the District Court, by the judge of the District Court for the time being assigned to the district court district in which the plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation.

¹OJ No. C59 of 5. 3. 1979, p. 1.

²OJ No. C59 of 5. 3. 1979, p. 71.

³OJ No. C298 of 24. 11. 1986, p. 1.

⁴OJ No. C189 of 28. 7. 1990, p. 35.