Paragraph 4 F1

Unilateral declaration made at the time of ratification by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the Convention:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland makes the following unilateral declaration:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland wishes to underline the great importance it attaches to the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recognises that extending the application of the Convention to all maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity is likely to increase considerably its effectiveness, allowing all maintenance creditors to benefit from the system of administrative cooperation established by the Convention.

It is in this spirit that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intends to extend the application of Chapters II and III of the Convention to spousal support when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland becomes a Contracting State to the Convention.

Furthermore, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland undertakes, within seven years, in the light of experience acquired and possible declarations of extension made by other Contracting States, to examine the possibility of extending the application of the Convention as a whole to all maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity.