CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER OF ORDER (Hansard, 2 March 1972)

§ Mr. Carlisle

I beg to move Amendment No. 3, in page 13, line 42, at end insert ';but any arrears due under the registered order at the date when its registration is cancelled by virtue of this subsection shall continue to be recoverable as if the registration had not been cancelled'. The purpose of the Amendment is to remove a doubt that exists about the enforcement of arrears due on an overseas order which has been revoked. By Clause 10, upon notification of revocation of a registered order being received in this country, the prescribed officer of the registering court is required to cancel the registration of the order.

It might be argued that, with the Bill as drafted, once registration of an overseas order has been cancelled because of revocation, any arrears outstanding at the time of the revocation cannot be recoverable because the power that set up the machinery has been removed. Where the registering court is the court which makes the revocation, there is no difficulty because it can deal with the question of arrears first. But it is felt that there might be difficulties in cases where the overseas court revokes the order and the first thing that the registering court knows is that the court has revoked the order, and then it finds substantial arrears outstanding which it wishes to enforce. The Amendment puts beyond doubt the power of the court to enforce these arrears, irrespective of the revocation of the order in the country in which it was made.