The Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981

Domestic proceedings N.I.

Nature of domestic proceedings N.I.

88.  In this Order the expression “domestic proceedings” means proceedings—

(a) under the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1920F1 F2 . . . or Part I of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972F3 [F2 or under Part I of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 so far as that Part relates to the recognition and enforcement of maintenance orders][F4 F5 ...[F6 [F7 or under the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and other forms of Family Maintenance done at The Hague on 23rd November 2007];]]

[F2 (aa) in relation to maintenance orders registered in a court of summary jurisdiction under the Maintenance Orders Act 1950 or Part II of the Maintenance and Affiliation Orders Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 or section 36 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, under that Act of 1950 or Part II of that Act of 1966]

(b) under the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act (Northern Ireland) 1924;

(c) under Article 101 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972F8 [F9 or section 101 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992];

[F10 (cc) under Article 37 of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;]

(d) under the Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980;

[F11 (dd) under Article 22 of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (so far as appeals under that Article are, by virtue of Article 2 of the Child Support Appeals (Jurisdiction of Courts) Order (Northern Ireland) 1993, to be made to a court of summary jurisdiction) or under Article 28 of the Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

(de) under the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992;]

[F12 (df) under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;]

[F13 (dg) under the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998;]

[F14 (dh) under Article 31B of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;]

[F15 (di) under paragraph 54 of Schedule 15 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 or under Schedule 16 to that Act;]

[F16 (dj) under Regulation (EU) No 606/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters;]

(e) under Article 87 or Article 98 in relation to orders made under any of the enactments referred to in the foregoing paragraphs; or

(f) under any enactment specified in the preceding paragraphs as applied or extended by or for the purposes of any other enactment.

F1 1920 c. 33

F2 1982 c. 27

F3 1972 c. 18

F4 SI 2001/3929

F5 Words in art. 88(a) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Jurisdiction and Judgments (Family) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/519), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 10(4) (with reg. 8) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1574, regs. 1, 5(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Words in art. 88(a) substituted (18.6.2011) by Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Maintenance) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/1484), reg. 9, Sch. 7 para. 20(6)

F7 Words in art. 88(a) inserted (1.8.2014) by The International Recovery of Maintenance (Hague Convention 2007 etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (S.R. 2012/413), reg. 1(1), Sch. 4 para. 2(4)

F8 1972 NI 14

F9 1992 c. 9

F10 1989 NI 4

F11 SR 1993/98

F12 1995 NI 2

F13 1998 NI 6

F14 2000 c. 4 (NI)

F15 2004 c. 33

F16 Art. 88(dj) inserted (11.1.2015) by The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Protection Measures) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/3298), regs. 1(4), 6

Sitting of court for domestic proceedings N.I.

89.—(1) The business of courts of summary jurisdiction shall, so far as is consistent with the due despatch of business, be arranged in such manner as may be requisite for separating the hearing or determination of domestic proceedings from other business.

(2) No person shall be present during the hearing or determination by a court of summary jurisdiction of any domestic proceedings except—

(a) members and officers of the court;

(b) parties to the proceedings before the court, their solicitors and counsel, witnesses and other persons directly concerned in those proceedings;

(c) solicitors and counsel in attendance for other proceedings;

(d) representatives of newspapers or news agencies; and

(e) any other person who appears to the court to have adequate grounds for attendance.

(3) For the purposes of taking any evidence of an indecent character in any domestic proceedings, the court may, if it thinks necessary in the interest of the administration of justice or of public decency, direct that all or any persons not being members or officers of the court or parties to the proceedings, their solicitors or counsel, or other persons directly concerned in the proceedings, be excluded from the court during the taking of that evidence.

(4) The powers conferred on a court of summary jurisdiction by this Article shall be in addition and without prejudice to any other powers of the court to hear proceedings in camera or to exclude a witness until his evidence is required.

Newspaper reports of domestic proceedings N.I.

90.— [F17 (1) A person to whom this paragraph applies shall not—

(a) print or publish, or cause or procure to be printed or published, in a newspaper or periodical, or

(b) include, or cause or procure to be included, in a programme included in a programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990) for reception in Northern Ireland,

any particulars of any domestic proceedings other than such particulars as are mentioned in paragraph (1A) below.

(1A) The particulars referred to in paragraph (1) above are—

(a) the names, addresses and occupations of the parties and witnesses;

(b) the grounds of the application, and a concise statement of the charges, defences and counter-charges in support of which evidence has been given;

(c) submissions on any point of law arising in the course of the proceedings, and decisions of the court on the submissions; and

(d) the decisions of the court, and any observations made by the court in giving its decision.

(1B) Paragraph (1) above applies—

(a) in relation to sub-paragraph (a) of that paragraph, to the proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical, and

(b) in relation to sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph, to any body corporate which provides the service in which the programme is included and to any person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of an editor of a newspaper.]

(2) If any person acts in contravention of the provisions of this Article he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four months or to a fine not exceeding[F18 level 3 on the standard scale], or to both.

(3) A prosecution for an offence under this Article shall not be instituted otherwise than by or with the consent of the Attorney General.

F19 (4) For the purposes of Article 7(2) of the Prosecution of Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1972, paragraph (3) shall be deemed to be a relevant consent provision passed before 30th March 1972.

(5) Nothing in this Article shall apply to the printing or publishing of any matter in any newspaper or periodical of a technical character bona fide intended for circulation among members of the legal or medical profession.

F17 1990 c. 42

F18 1984 NI 3

F19 prosp. rep. by 2002 c. 26