Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act

(CHAPTER 169)

(Original Enactment: Act 23 of 1975)

REVISED EDITION 1985

(30th March 1987)

An Act to make provision for the enforcement in Singapore of maintenance orders made in reciprocating countries and vice versa.

[3rd May 1976^*]

^* Section 19(1) has not been brought into operation.

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

(2) The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different provisions of this Act.

[8/76]

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“affiliation order” means an order (however described) adjudging, finding or declaring a person to be the father of a child, whether or not it also provides for the maintenance of the child;

“certificate of arrears”, in relation to a maintenance order, means a certificate certifying that the sums specified in the certificate is to the best of the information or belief of the officer giving the certificate the amount of the arrears due under the order at the date of the certificate or, as the case may be, that to the best of his information or belief there are no arrears due thereunder at that date;

“certified copy”, in relation to an order of court, means a copy of the order certified by the proper officer of the court to be a true copy;

“court” includes any tribunal or person having power to make, confirm, enforce, vary or revoke a maintenance order that is enforceable by a civil court of competent jurisdiction;

[Act 2 of 2012 wef 30/09/2014]

“maintenance order” means an order (however described) of the following descriptions:

(a)

an order (including an affiliation order or order consequent upon an affiliation order) which provides for the payment of a lump sum or the making of periodical payments —

(i)	by a man towards the maintenance of his wife or former wife; or
(ii)	by a person towards the maintenance of his child; and [Act 2 of 2012 wef 30/09/2014]

(b)

an affiliation order or order consequent upon an affiliation order, being an order which provides for the payment by a person adjudged, found or declared to be a child’s father of expenses incidental to the child’s birth or, where the child had died, of his funeral expenses,

and in the case of a maintenance order which has been varied, means that order as varied;

“payee”, in relation to a maintenance order, means the person entitled to the payments for which the order provides;

“payer”, in relation to a maintenance order, means the person liable to make payments under the order;

“provisional order” means (according to the context) —

(a)	an order made by a court in Singapore which is provisional only and has no effect unless confirmed, with or without alteration, by a competent court in a reciprocating country; or
(b)	an order made by a court in a reciprocating country which is provisional only and has no effect unless confirmed with or without alteration, by a court in Singapore having power under this Act to confirm it;

“reciprocating country” has the meaning assigned to it by section 17;

“registered order” means a maintenance order which is for the time being registered in a court in Singapore under this Act;

“registering court”, in relation to a registered order, means the court in which that order is for the time being registered under this Act;

“responsible authority”, in relation to a reciprocating country, means any person who in that country has functions similar to those of the Minister under this Act.

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