# Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972, Section 17: Proceedings in the family court in England and Wales or in magistrates’ courts in Northern Ireland

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

1)—(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5A) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of—
(a) a maintenance order made by the family court, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies; or
(b) a registered order which is registered in the family court,
is residing in a reciprocating country, the family court shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have such jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been habitually resident in England and Wales.
(6) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation of—
(a) a maintenance order made by a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies; or
(b) a registered order which is registered in such a court,
is residing in a reciprocating country, a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland shall have jurisdiction to hear the application (where it would not have jurisdiction apart from this subsection) if it would have had jurisdiction to hear it had the respondent been habitually resident in Northern Ireland.
(7) Where the respondent to an application for the variation or revocation—
(a) of a maintenance order made by the family court in England and Wales or a magistrates' court in Northern Ireland, being an order to which section 5 of this Act applies; or
(b) of a registered order registered in the family court in England and Wales or a magistrates' court in Northern Ireland,
does not appear at the time and place appointed for the hearing of the application, but the court is satisfied that the respondent is residing in a reciprocating country, the court may proceed to hear and determine the application at the time and place appointed for the hearing or for any adjourned hearing in like manner as if the respondent had appeared at that time and place.
(7A) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, in subsection (7)—
(a) for the word “respondent”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “defendant”; and
(b) for the words “an application” and “the application”, in each place where they occur, there shall be substituted “a complaint” and “the complaint” respectively.
(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/18/section/17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/maintenance-orders-reciprocal-enforcement-act-1972/section-17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.