{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-proceedings-rules-northern-ireland-1996/rule-3.24",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-proceedings-rules-northern-ireland-1996/rule-3.24.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/1996/322",
  "legislation_title": "The Family Proceedings Rules (Northern Ireland) 1996",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-proceedings-rules-northern-ireland-1996",
  "path": "rule/3.24",
  "kind": "rule",
  "number": "3.24",
  "heading": "[ Application under Article 31B of the Order of 1989 for a declaration of parentage",
  "text": "(1) An application under Article 31B of the Order of 1989 for a declaration of parentage shall be commenced by petition which, unless otherwise directed, shall state—\n(a) the full name and the sex, date and place of birth and residential address of the petitioner (except where the petitioner is the Department);\n(b) where the case is not an excepted case within Article 31B(4) of the Order of 1989, either the petitioner’s interest in the determination of the application or that Article 28(2) of the Order of 1991 applies;\n(c) if they are known, the full name and the sex, date and place of birth and residential address of each of the following persons (unless that person is the petitioner)—\n(i) the person whose parentage is in issue;\n(ii) the person whose parenthood is in issue; and\n(iii) any person who is acknowledged to be the [ parent] of the person whose parentage is in issue;\n(d) if the petitioner, the person whose parentage is in issue or the person whose parenthood is in issue, is known by a name other than that which appears in the certificate of his birth, that other name (which shall also be stated in any decree made thereon);\n(e) if it is known, the full name of the mother, or alleged mother, of the person whose parentage is in issue, at the date of—\n(i) her birth;\n(ii) her first marriage;\n(iii) the birth of the person whose parentage is in issue; and\n(iv) her most recent marriage;\nif it was at any of those times different from her full name at the date of the presentation of the petition;\n(f) the grounds on which the petitioner relies and all other material facts alleged by him to justify the making of the declaration;\n(g) whether there are or have been any other proceedings in any court, tribunal or authority in Northern Ireland or elsewhere relating to the parentage of the person whose parentage is an issue or to the parenthood of the person whose parenthood is an issue, and, if so—\n(i) particulars of the proceedings, including the court, tribunal or authority before which they were begun, and their nature, outcome or present state;\n(ii) the date they were begun;\n(iii) the names of the parties; and\n(iv) the date or expected date of any trial in the proceedings;\n(h) that either the person whose parentage is in issue or the person whose parenthood is in issue—\n(i) is domiciled in Northern Ireland on the date of the presentation of the petition; or\n(ii) has been habitually resident in Northern Ireland throughout the period of one year ending with that date; or\n(iii) died before that date and either was at death domiciled in Northern Ireland or had been habitually resident in Northern Ireland throughout the period of one year ending with the date of death; and\n(i) the nationality, citizenship or immigration status of the person whose parentage is in issue and of the person whose parenthood is in issue, and the effect which the granting of a declaration of parentage would have upon the status of each of them as regards his nationality, citizenship or right to be in the United Kingdom.\n(2) Unless otherwise directed, there shall be annexed to the petition a copy of the birth certificate of the person whose parentage is in issue.\n(3) The respondents to the application shall be—\n(i) the person whose parentage is in issue; and\n(ii) any person who is, or who is alleged to be, the [ parent] of the person whose parentage is in issue;\nexcluding the petitioner.\n(4) The prescribed officer for the purposes of Article 31B(7) of the Order of 1989 shall be the chief clerk or proper officer, as the case may be.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.I. 1991/2628 (N.I. 23) Article 28 was substituted by section 66(5) of, and paragraph 6 or Schedule 8 to, the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (c. 4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Word substituted by S.R. 2005 No. 497 with effect from 05.12.05"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Word substituted by S.R. 2005 No. 497 with effect from 05.12.05"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "New Rules inserted by S.R. 2002 No. 137 with effect from 6.5.02"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "S.I. 1989/677 (N.I. 6) Article 31B was inserted by section 66 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (c. 4)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1996/322/rule/3.24",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:34:45.513001+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}