Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

EU and international agreements concerning maintenance

18 (1) Civil legal services provided in relation to an application under the following for the recognition or enforcement in England and Wales of a maintenance order—

(a) the 1968 Brussels Convention;

(b) the 1973 Hague Convention;

(c) the 1989 Lugano Convention;

(d) the 2000 Brussels Regulation;

(e) the 2007 Lugano Convention.

(2) Civil legal services provided in relation to an application under Article 56 of the EU Maintenance Regulation (applications relating to maintenance decisions).

(3) Civil legal services provided to an individual in relation to proceedings in England and Wales relating to the recognition, enforceability or enforcement of a maintenance decision in circumstances in which the individual falls within Article 47(2) or (3) of the EU Maintenance Regulation (parties who benefited from free legal aid etc in Member State of origin).

Exclusions

(4) Sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) are subject to—

(a) the exclusions in Part 2 of this Schedule, with the exception of paragraph 11 of that Part, and

(b) the exclusion in Part 3 of this Schedule.

Definitions

(5) In this paragraph—

• “the 1968 Brussels Convention” means the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (including the Protocol annexed to that Convention) signed at Brussels on 27 September 1968;

• “the 1973 Hague Convention” means the Convention on the recognition and enforcement of decisions relating to maintenance obligations concluded at The Hague on 2 October 1973;

• “the 1989 Lugano Convention” means the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (including the Protocols annexed to that Convention) opened for signature at Lugano on 16 September 1988 and signed by the United Kingdom on 18 September 1989;

• “the 2000 Brussels Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;

• “the 2007 Lugano Convention” means the Convention on jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss Confederation and the Kingdom of Denmark signed on behalf of the European Community on 30 October 2007;

• “the EU Maintenance Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co-operation in matters relating to maintenance obligations;

• “maintenance order”, in relation to a convention or regulation listed in this paragraph, means a maintenance judgment within the meaning of that convention or regulation.