S.I. No. 152/1988:

DISTRICT COURT (STATUS OF CHILDREN ACT, 1987) RULES, 1988.

DISTRICT COURT (STATUS OF CHILDREN ACT, 1987) RULES, 1988.

The District Court Rules Committee, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 91 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , section 72 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , section 17 of the Interpretation Act, 1937 (as applied by section 48 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 ), and section 34 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 , do hereby, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, make the following Rules of Court:--

1. These Rules may be cited as the District Court ( Status of Children Act, 1987 ) Rules, 1988.

2. These Rules shall come into operation on the 4th day of July, 1988 and shall be read together with all other District Court Rules for the time being in force.

3. In these Rules--

"the Act of 1930" means the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930 (No. 17 of 1930);

"the Act of 1940" means the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 (No. 23 of 1940);

"the Act of 1964" means the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 (No. 7 of 1964);

"the Act of 1974" means the Maintenance Orders Act, 1974 (No. 16 of 1974);

"the Act of 1976" means the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 (No. 11 of 1976);

"the Act of 1987" means the Status of Children Act, 1987 (No. 26 of 1987).

4. Part I (made under the Act of 1930) of the District Court Rules (No. 2) 1962 ( S.I. No. 8 of 1962 ) and the forms prescribed therein are hereby annulled.

GUARDIANSHIP

5. In these Rules--

"the Rules of 1982" means the District Court ( Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 ) Rules, 1982 ( S.I. No. 141 of 1982 );

"infant" shall be construed in accordance with section 2 of the Age of Majority Act, 1985 (No. 2 of 1985).

6. (1) An application to the Court under section 6A (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1964 by the father of an infant for an order appointing him to be a guardian of the infant shall be preceded by the completion by the applicant of a notice in the Form 1 in Part I of the Schedule hereto.

(2) Where the mother of the infant consents in writing to the appointment of the father as a guardian and the applicant is registered as the father in a register maintained under the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1987, the application may be made ex parte subject to the lodgment with the District Court Clerk at least 48 hours before the date of the intended application of the completed notice (Form 1) together with the said consent in writing and a certified extract from the said register showing that the applicant is so registered.

(3) In any other case an application under the said section 6A shall be preceded by the issue and service of the notice (Form 1) on the mother and on any other guardian of the infant in the manner prescribed by Rule 13 of the Rules of 1982.

(4) Applications under the said section 6A shall be heard otherwise than in public.

(5) The order of the Court granting such application shall be in the Form 2 in Part I of the Schedule hereto.

MAINTENANCE

(proceedings under the Act of 1976)

7. In these Rules--

"the Rules of 1976" means the District Court [ Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 ] Rules, 1976 ( S.I. No. 96 of 1976 ).

8. (1) An application under section 5A (1) or 5A (2) (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1976 for a maintenance order shall be by summons in the Form 3 or 4, as appropriate, in Part I of the Schedule hereto.

(2) The order of the Court granting the application shall be in the Form 5 or 6, as appropriate, in the said Part I.

9. An application under section 21A (1) (inserted by section 21 of the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1976 for a lump sum order in respect of the expenses incidental to the birth or funeral of a dependent child shall be by summons in the Form 7 in Part I of the Schedule hereto, which shall be served on the other spouse or parent, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of 1976. The order of the Court granting the application shall be in the Form 8 in the said Part I of the Schedule hereto, a copy of which shall be sent to the said other spouse or parent in the manner provided in Rule 11 of those Rules.

10. The form of Interim Order set out in Part II of the Schedule hereto is hereby substituted for Form 9 in the Schedule of Forms to the Rules of 1976.

11. The provisions of the Rules of 1976 shall apply to the proceedings to which Rules 8 and 9 hereof relate.

12. Forms 18 and 20 in the Schedule of Forms to the Rules of 1976 are hereby deleted.

13. The Forms of Information (No. 28), Warrant of Arrest (No. 29), Summons for Attendance of Maintenance Debtor (No. 30), Warrant of Committal (No. 31) and Warrant of Distress (No. 32) set out in Part II of the Schedule hereto are hereby substituted respectively for Forms 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 set out in the Schedule of Forms to the Rules of 1976.

14. The Rules of 1976 are hereby amended by the deletion in Rules 11, 12, 14 , 16 and 40 of the words "or an affiliation order" and "affiliation order" in each place where they occur.

15. The forms in the Schedule of Forms to the Rules of 1976 are hereby amended as follows--

MAINTENANCE

(proceedings under the Act of 1974)

16. In these Rules--

"the Rules of 1975" means the District Court ( Maintenance Orders Act, 1974 ) Rules, 1975 ( S.I. No. 58 of 1975 ).

17. The Schedule of Forms to the Rules of 1975 is hereby amended as follows:--

by the substitution for Forms 10, 11, 19 and 20 therein of the respective forms set out in Part III of the Schedule hereto;

by the deletion of Forms 12, 13, 14, 21 and 22 therein;

by the deletion in Form 17 therein of "* Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930 ";

by the deletion of the footnote in Form 18.

ENFORCEMENT

(proceedings under section 8 of the Act of 1940)

18. In these Rules--

"the Rules of 1962" means the District Court Rules (No. 2) 1962 ( S.I. No. 8 of 1962 ).

19. Part IV (ENFORCEMENT OF MAINTENANCE AND AFFILIATION ORDERS) of the Rules of 1962 is hereby amended as follows:--

by the deletion of "AND AFFILIATION" in the title thereof;

by the deletion of Rule 26 (1) (ii);

by the substitution for Forms 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58 and 59 in the Schedule of Forms thereto of the respective forms set out in Part IV of the Schedule hereto.

BLOOD TESTS IN DETERMINING PARENTAGE IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

20. (1) Where in any civil proceedings before the Court the parentage of any person is in question, an application under section 38 (1) of the Act of 1987 by a party to the proceedings for a direction for the use of blood tests shall be preceded by the issue and service of a notice in the Form 9 in Part I of the Schedule hereto. Such notice shall be served by prepaid ordinary post on the other party or parties to the proceedings and on each person in respect of whom the direction is sought at least 7 days before the date of hearing of the application.

(2) The original of every such notice, together with statutory declarations as to service thereof, shall be lodged with the District Court Clerk four days before the said date of hearing.

(3) The direction of the Court shall be in the Form 10 in Part I of the Schedule hereto, and shall be served by prepaid ordinary post on each person in respect of whom it is given.

21. Where the Court revokes or varies, under section 38 (3) of the Act of 1987, a direction previously given, the order so revoking or varying shall be in the Form 11 in Part 1 of the Schedule hereto, and shall be served by prepaid ordinary post on each person directly affected by the order.

22. (1) A notice under section 40 (5) of the Act of 1987 by a party to civil proceedings of his intention to call a person as a witness shall be in the Form 12 in Part I of the Schedule hereto. Such notice shall be served by prepaid ordinary post on the other parties to the proceedings or on such of them as the Court may direct at least 7 days before the sitting of the Court at which it is intended to call as a witness the person named in the notice.

(2) The original of every such notice shall be lodged with the District Court Clerk 4 days before the said sitting of the Court.

ÉIRE

IRELAND

PART I

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SCHEDULE

PART II

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SCHEDULE

PART III

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SCHEDULE

PART IV

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GIVEN this 30th day of June, 1988.

OLIVER A. MACKLIN

Chairman

I concur in the making of the foregoing Rules.

DATED this 30th day of June, 1988.

GERARD COLLINS,

Minister for Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Rules, which come into operation on 4 July 1988, make the necessary additions to and changes in District Court rules arising out of those provisions of the Status of Children Act, 1987 , which affect guardianship and maintenance law. As regards guardianship, the 1987 Act amended the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 , so as to enable the father of a child who has not married the child's mother to be appointed guardian of the child jointly with her. As regards maintenance, the 1987 Act repealed the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930 , and replaced it with new provisions of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , which deal with the maintenance of children whose parents are not married to each other.