1977-HKRS28-16-25_Part01 — Page 38

Varlackoo and Tevocation of maloltasoda order spade

In Hoor KooK.

1972 c. 19.

I. S.

(2) A maintenance order made by virtue of this section shall be a provisional order.

(3) If the court hearing an application to which subsection (1) applies is satisfied--

(2) that there are grounds on which a maintenance order containing a provision requiring the making of payments for the maintenance of a child may be made on that application, but

(3) that it has no jurisdiction to make that order unless it also makes

an order providing for the legal custody of that child, then for the purpose of enabling the court to make the maintenance order. the applicant shall be deemed to be the person to whom the legal custody of that child bas been committed by an order of the court which is for the time being in force.

(4) No enactment empowering the District Court to refuse to make an order on an application on the ground that the matter in question is one which would be more conveniently dealt with by the High Court shall apply in relation to an application to which subsection (1) applies.

(5) where the District Court makes a maintenance order which is by virtue of this section a provistonal order, the following documents-

(a) a certified copy of the maintenance order;

(b) a document, authenticated in the prescribed manner, selting aut

or summarizing the evidence given in the proceedings; (c) a certificate, signed by the Registrar, certifying that the grounds stated in the certificate are the grounds on which the making of the order might have been opposed by the payer under the order, (d) a stalement giving such information as was available to the court

as to the whereabouts of the payer;

(e) a statement giving such information as the Registrar possesses for

facilitating the identification of the payer; and

(f) where available, a photograph of the payer,

shall be sent by the Registrar to the Governor with a view to their being transmitted by the Governor to the responsible authority in the recipro cating country in which the payer is residing if the Governor is satisfied that the stalement relating to the whereabouts of the payer gives sufficient information to justify that being done.

(6) A maintenance order made by virtue of this section which has been confirmed by a competent court in a reciprocating country shall be treated for all purposes as if the District Court had made it in the form in which it was confirmed and as if the order had never been a provisional order, and subject to section 6, any such order may be enforced, varied or revoked accordingly.

6. (1) This section applies to a maintenance order a certified copy of which has been sent to à reciprocating country in pursuance of section 4 and to a maintenance order made by virtue of sectión 5 which has been confirmed by a competent court in such a country.

(2) The District Court shall have power to vary a maintenance order to which this section applies by a provisional onder,

(3) Where the District Court, on hearing an application for the varia- lion of a maintenance order to which this section applies, proposes to vary it by increasing the rate of the payments under the order then, unless either-

(4) both the payer and the payee under the order appear in the

proceedings, or

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(b) the applicant appears and the appropriate process has been duly

served on the other party,

the order varying the order shall be a provisional order.

(4) Where the District Court makes a provisional order varying a maintenance order to which this section applies, the Registrar shall send in the prescribed munner to the court in a reciprocating country having power to confirm the provisional order a certified copy of the provisional order together with a document, authenticated in the prescribed manner, setting out or summarizing the evidence given in the proceedings.

(5) Where a certified copy of a provisional order made by a court In a reciprocating country, being an order varying or revoking a main- tenance order to which this section applies, together with a document, duly authenticated. setting out or summarizing the evidence given in the proceedings in which the provisional order was made, is received by the District Court, the District Court may confirm or refuse to confirm the provisional order and, if the order is an order varying the maintenance order, confirm it either without alteration or with such alterations as il thinks reasonable.

(6) For the purposes of determining whether a provisional order should be confirmed under subsection (5) the court shall proceed as if an application for the variation or revocation, as the case may be, of the maintenance order in question had been made to it.

(7) Where a maintenance order to which this section applies bas been varied by an order fincluding a provisional order which has beeu confirmed) made by the District Court or by a competent court in a reciprocating country, the plaintenance order shall, as from the date on which the order was made, have effect as varied by that order and, where that order was a provisional order, as if that order had been made in the forma in which il was confirmed and as if it had never been a provisional order.

(8) Where a maintenance order to which this section applies bas been revoked by an order made by the District Court or by a competent court in a reciprocating country, including a provisional order made by the last-mentioned court which has been confirmed by the District Court, The maintedance order shall, as from the date on which the order was made. be deemed to have ceased to have affect except as respects any arrears due under the maintenance order at that date.

(9) Where before a maintenance order made by virtue of section 5 is confirmed a document, duly authenticated, setting out or summarizing evidence taken in a reciprocating country for the purpose of proceedings relating to the confirmation of the order is received by the District Court, or the District Court, in compliance with a request made to it by a court in such a country, takes the evidence of a person residing in Hong Kong for the purpose of such proceedings, the District Court shall con sider that evidence and if, having done so, it appears to it that the order ought not to have been made

(a) it shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, give to the person on whose application the maintenance order was made an opportunity to consider that evidence, to make representation with respect to it and to adduce further evidence; and

(b) after considering all the evidence and any representations made

by that person, it may revoke the maintenance order.