§ Mr.Beithasked the Attorney-General whether he is aware of the reluctance of legal aid authorities to grant legal aid certificates for the enforcement of maintenance granted by British courts in divorce cases when the order is against a party resident in West Germany; and whether he will take steps to seek the inclusion of West Germany as a convention country under Part II of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralA legal aid certificate is only available for proceedings before British courts. The Federal Republic of Germany was declared a convention country for the purposes of Part II of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972 by Order in Council made on 18th March 1975. An application under Part II of the 1972 Act is made through the justices' clerk of the applicant's local magistrates' court. There is no cost to the applicant.