Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act Amendment Act 1936 (WA)

RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF

MAINTENANCE ORDERS.

1° EDWD. VIII., No. VII.

No. 7 of 1936.

AN ACT to amend the Reciprocal Enforcement of

Maintenance Orders Act, 1921.

[Assented to 3rd December, 1936.]

lative Council and Legislative Assembly of WesternB E it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty,by and with the advice and consent of the Legis-

Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

1. (a) This Act may be cited as the Reciprocal En- Short title.

forcement of Maintenance Orders Act Amendment Act,

1.936, and shall be read as one with the Reciprocal En- forcement of Maintenance Orders Act, 1921 (No. 27 of 1921), as amended by Act No. 29 of 1923.

No. 7.] Reciprocal Enforcement of Main- [1936.

tenance Orders.

(b) The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act, 1921, with the amendment hereinbefore re- ferred to, is hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act."

Amendment

of s. 2 of the 2. Section two of the principal Act is hereby

principal Act. amended

(a) by inserting the following definition after the de-

finition of "certified copy":

"Depositions" includes any sworn statement reduced to writing or any official state- ment of evidence certified by the court:

(b) by inserting a further definition after the defini-

tion of "Maintenance Order'':

"Mandated Territory" means any territory in respect of which a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations has been accepted by His Majesty or any part of His Majesty's Dominions ;

(c) by inserting a further definition after the fore-

going definition of "mandated territory":

"Reciprocating jurisdiction" means the United Kingdom, the Dominion of New Zealand, and also any part of the King's Dominions, British Protectorate or Man- dated Territory to which this Act applies;

(d)	by inserting the words "or in any mandated ter- ritory" after the words "British Protectorate," in the fifth line of the definition of "Superior Court";
(e)	by inserting a further definition after the defini-

tion of "Superior Court"

"United Kingdom" means Great Britain and

Northern Ireland.

Amendment of s. 5 of the3. Section five of the principal Act is hereby amended principal Act. by striking out subsections four and five of the section.

Amendment	4. Section six of the principal Act is amended
of a. 6 of the

principal Act.	(a)	by striking out the words "or subsequently en- dorsed" after the word "issued," in lines two and three of subsection (2) ;
(b)	by striking out the whole of subsection (6).

1936.j Reciprocal Enforcement of Main- [No. 7.

tenance Orders.

5. New sections are hereby added after section six New sections.

Of the principal Act:—

fiA. (1.) Subject as hereinafter provided any main- tenance order enforceable by virtue of this Act by

Orders Con

firmed in tidy

registered in

State or

any court in the State may be varied or rescinded by

may be varied

this State

the court in which the order is enforceable in such

here.

or rescinded

manner as the court after hearing evidence thinks just, and as from the date on which any such order is so varied or rescinded the order shall be enforceable only according to the terms of variation or, in case of re- scission, shall cease to be in force in Western Aus- tralia, except in either case in regard to any sums accrued due under the order before the date of the order of variation or rescission;

Provided that, except where at the time of the ap- plication the person on whose application the order was made is residing in this State, no application for the variation or rescission of an order under this sub- section shall be entertained by any court in the State unless the court is satisfied that a similar application could have been entertained by the court in which the order was originally made.

Varying final

(2) (a) Any maintenance order made by a court in this State may be varied or rescinded by that court

orders or pro-

visional

orders made here which

in accordance with the laws applicable to the variation

have been

registered or

or rescission of maintenance orders made between

confirmed in some other

parties resident in the State, notwithstanding that the

reciprocating

order may have been registered or confirmed in some

jurisdiction.

other reciprocating jurisdiction.

(b) On the making of any such order the court in this State making the order shall send a certified copy thereof to the Governor for transmission to a Secre- tary of State if the original order was registered or confirmed in the United Ringdom, and if it was regis- tered or confirmed in any other reciprocating juris- diction, then to the governing officer of such recipro- cating jurisdiction.

(3.) The power conferred by this section to vary or to rescind any maintenance order may be exercised on

provisional

Orders to be

only unless

both parties

the application of either party in the absence of the

present.

other, but in such case any order made by the court shall be provisional only, and the provisions of section

five of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.

No. 7.] Reciprocal Enforcement of Main- [1936.

tenance Orders.

Court may

remit case	(4.) Where on an application under this section for the variation or rescission of any maintenance order the court is satisfied that it is necessary to remit the case to the court which made, registered, or confirmed the order for the purpose of taking any further evi- dence, the court may so remit the case and adjourn the proceedings for that purpose.
for further
evidence.

Where case	6B. Where any court in any reciprocating jurisdic-
remitted to

court in this	tion has remitted any case to a court in this State for
Slate to take
further	the purpose of taking any further evidence with re-
evidence, the
court shall
proceed to	spect to any application before such first-mentioned
u•id en ce.
Ea Ice the	court to confirm a provisional maintenance order made by a court in this State. or with respect to any main- tenance order made, registered, or confirmed 1w such first-mentioned court, the court in this State to which the case is remitted shall, after giving the prescribed notice, proceed to take the evidence and, subject as hereinafter provided, the depositions shall be sent to the Governor for transmission to a Secretary of State in a case where the court making the order for the taking of further evidence is in the United Kingdom, and ill other eases to the governing officer in the re- ciprocating. jurisdiction:
Provided that, if upon hearing such evidence with respect to a provisional order made under section five of this Act it appears to the court that the pro- visional order ought not to have been made, or should
he varied, the court may, in the former case, in lieu of
sending the depositions to the Governor, rescind the order and, in the latter ease, vary the provisional order and send the variation order to the Governor, to- gether with the depositions for transmission as afore- said.
n confirming

a provisional	60. Notwithstanding that an order registered or
order the

court may	confirmed under this Act is enforceable only from the
make pro-
vision for	date of registration or confirmation, as the case may
payment of
arrears.	be, the court by which the order is so enforceable may on application being made to it in the prescribed man- ner direct the payment in respect of the period be- tween the making of the order and the registration or

1936. ) Reciprocal Enforcement of Main- [No. 7.

tenance Orders.

confirmation thereof, or in respect of any part of that period, of such sums, if any, as to the court may seem just, at a rate not exceeding that at which sums are payable under the order as from the date of registra- tion or confirmation.

6D. (1.) Where a certified copy of a maintenance order or of a provisional maintenance order, together	Where
defendant
and goes to leaves State
with the depositions and accompanying documents	another reciprocating
has been transmitted to the Governor in accordance	jurisdiction,papers may
with the provisions hereinbefore contained, and It ap-	he sent on.
pears to the Governor that the person against whom the order was made is resident in some other recipro- cating jurisdiction, the Governor shall transmit the certified copy, together with the depositions and other documents relating thereto, to a Secretary of State where such person is resident in the United Kingdom, and in any other case, to the governing officer of the reciprocating jurisdiction where such person resides.

(2.) Where a court in tins State has registered a ner3

maintenance order under section three of this Act, l eaves atti tte

or has confirmed a maintenance order under section rtlicotlf:r"

six of this Act, and that court is satisfied that the bliaTer:

person against whom the order was made is no longer :is, reogiteg

resident in this State but is resident in some other re- ibar ?, Pe papersn

ciprocating jurisdiction, the court shall send a certi- on.	-
fled copy of the order to the Governor for transmis- sion to a Secretary of State, if such person is resident in the United Kingdom, and in any other case for transmission to the governing officer of the recipro- cating jurisdiction in which such person is resident.
The order shall thereupon cease to be enforceable under this Act, unless and until it is again transmitted to the Governor by a Secretary of State or by a gov- erning officer of some other reciprocating jurisdiction, as the case may be, and registered under section three or confirmed under section six of this Act.

6. Subsection four of section fourteen of the principal Amendmentof 8.14 of tho

Act is amended by inserting after the word "Protec-

principal Act.

torate" where it occurs in line two and in line three the

words "or mandated territory."

No. 7.] Reciprocal Enforcement of Main- [1936.

tenance Orders.

Provision f or

reci procity. 7. The amendments effected by this Act shall have

effect only iu regard to those reciprocating jurisdictions which the Governor by Order in Council declares he is satisfied have

(a)	enacted legislation affording a measure of re- ciprocity substantially similar in its provisions to the amendments effected by this Act; and
(b)	made provision for applying the benefit of such

reciprocal provisions to this State.

Amendment

of long title	8. The long title of the principal Act is amended by
of principal

Act.

striking out the words "and Protectorates" in the second

line of the long title and substituting the words

"British Protectorates and Territories in respect of which a mandate has been accepted by His Maj- esty or by any part of His Majesty's Domin- ions."