Scotland and
Northern Ireland have different legal systems from England and Wales,
and the law in Scotland and Northern Ireland differs in some respects.
In the past these legal differences caused conflicts of jurisdiction
where proceedings could be brought in respect of the same child in different
parts of the United Kingdom at the same time. Orders made in one court
were not necessarily recognised or enforceable in other courts which
made it possible for parents to ignore an order obtained in one part
of the United Kingdom, remove the child to another part and institute
fresh proceedings there in the hope of obtaining a different result.
Part I of the
Family Law Act of 1986 was passed to deal with these problems. The Act
aims to prevent competing proceedings being commenced in two different
parts of the United Kingdom at the same time. It also allows orders
made in one part of the United Kingdom to be recognised and enforceable
in all parts. This includes the Isle of Man but does not include the
Channel Islands nor the Overseas Dependent Territories.
The party wishing
to have an order enforced in another part of the United Kingdom should
apply to the court which made the order. That court will then forward
the papers to the appropriate court in the other part of the United
Kingdom, which will then register it.
A court in
one part of the country may order that a child may not be removed from
the United Kingdom or part of it which the court may specify. If the
child is removed in contravention of an order, the child has to be returned
from where he or she was taken and only the court which made the original
order may give consent to the child being removed from the United Kingdom.
A court may
also order passports to be surrendered, the disclosure of the child's
whereabouts or particulars of other proceedings concerning him or her
and may give special authority to an officer of the court or constable
to ensure the recovery of the child.
