Section 15 Courts having jurisdiction under this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this section, “the court” for the purposes of this Act means—

Subject to the provisions of this section “the court” for the purposes of this Act means the High Court, any county court or any magistrates’ court, except that provision may be made by rules of court that in the case of such applications to a county court, or such applications to a magistrates’ court, as are prescribed, only such county courts, or as the case may be such magistrates’ courts, as are prescribed shall be authorised to hear those applications.

A magistrates’ court shall not be competent to entertain—

lt is hereby declared that any power conferred on a magistrates’ court under this Act is exercisable notwithstanding that any party to the proceedings is residing outside England and Wales.

Where any party to the proceedings on an application to a magistrates’ court under this Act resides outside the United Kingdom and does not appear at the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application, the court shall not hear the application unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, in such manner as is prescribed, that such steps as are prescribed have been taken to give to that party notice of the application and of the time and place appointed for the hearing of it.

In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by rules of court.

A county court or magistrates’ court shall not have jurisdiction under this Act in any case where the respondent or any of the respondents resides in Scotland or Northern Ireland—

An order under this Act giving the F7legal custody of a minor F8to a person resident in England or Wales, whether with or without an order requiring payments to be made towards the minor’s maintenance, may be made, if one parent resides in Scotland or Northern Ireland and the other parent and the minor in England or Wales, by a F9magistrates’ court appointed for the commission area (within the meaning of the M2F10Justices of the Peace Act 1979) in which the other parent resides.

It is hereby declared that a magistrates’ court has jurisdiction—

Where proceedings for an order under subsection (1) of section 9 of this Act relating to the legal custody of a minor are brought in a magistrates’ court by F13a person residing in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the court shall have jurisdiction to make any order in respect of the minor under that section on the application of the respondent in the proceedings.