OpenLegislation

Article 17 Applications under section twelve of the Act

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

(1)

An application under section twelve of the Act, for a determination whether payments of a particular class or description are earnings for the purposes of an attachment of earnings order, shall be in writing and may be made by the applicant in person, by his solicitor or by such other person as may be authorised by him in that behalf.

(2)

The parties to proceedings in pursuance of such an application as aforesaid shall be the person to whom the attachment of earnings order is directed, the person in whose favour the order is made and the person liable to make payments under the related maintenance order.

(3)

Where such an application as aforesaid is made to a court and a justice of the peace acting for the same petty sessions area as the court determines that the application could more conveniently be dealt with by a magistrates' court acting for some other petty sessions area being an area where one of the parties is for the time being or an area where the person to whom the attachment of earnings order is directed trades or conducts business, he may cause the clerk of the court to send by post to the clerk of that other court the application together with the name and other particulars of each of the parties, and the clerk of that other court shall bring the application before that court.

(4)

The clerk of the court by which such an application as aforesaid is to be heard—

(a)

shall serve written notice on the parties to the proceedings of the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application; and

(b)

shall, when the hearing is concluded, give written notice to the parties to the proceedings, of the determination of the court.

(5)

A court may, if the applicant does not appear, dismiss such an application as aforesaid and shall not begin to hear such an application in the absence of any of the other parties to the proceedings unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, on oath or in the manner prescribed by Rule 55 of the Magistrates' Courts Rules, 1952, that the provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of the preceding paragraph of this Rule have been complied with.