Article 14 Evidence for the purposes of proceedings outside England and Wales
Subject to paragraph (2) below, where for the purposes of any proceedings in a court in another part of the United Kingdom or in a Contracting State other than the United Kingdom relating to a maintenance order a request is made by or on behalf of that court for the taking in England and Wales of evidence of a person residing therein relating to matters specified in the request, the following magistrates' courts shall have power to take that evidence, that is to say:—
where the maintenance order to which the proceedings in the court in the other part of the United Kingdom or Contracting State relate was made by a magistrates' court, the court which made the order;
where the maintenance order to which those proceedings relate is registered in a magistrates' court, the court in which the order is registered;
a magistrates' court which has received such a request from the Secretary of State.
The power conferred by paragraph (1) above may, with the agreement of a court having that power, be exercised by any other magistrates' court which, because the person whose evidence is to be taken resides within its jurisdiction or for any other reason, the first mentioned court considers could more conveniently take the evidence; but nothing in this paragraph shall derogate from the power of any court specified in paragraph (1) above.
Before taking the evidence of a person under paragraph (1) or (2) above, a magistrates' court shall give notice of the time and place at which the evidence is to be taken to such persons and in such manner as it thinks fit.
Subject to paragraph (5) below, where the evidence of a person is to be taken by a magistrates' court under the foregoing provisions of this Rule—
the evidence shall be taken in the same manner as if that person were a witness in proceedings on a complaint;
any oral evidence so taken shall be put into writing and read to the person who gave it, who shall be required to sign the document; and
the justices by whom the evidence of any person is so taken shall certify at the foot of any document setting out the evidence of, or produced in evidence by, that person that such evidence was taken, or a document received in evidence, as the case may be, by them.
Where such a request as is mentioned in paragraph (1) above includes a request that the evidence be taken in a particular manner, the magistrates' court by which the evidence was taken shall, so far as circumstances permit, comply with that request.
Any document such as is mentioned in paragraph (4)(c) above shall be sent to the court in the Contracting State by or on behalf of which the request was made.