This is a minor drafting amendment. The deletion of the words "by order" is to improve the clarity of the subsection.
Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments Bill, 1998: Committee and Remaining Stages.
Government amendment No. 1:
In page 5, subsection (2), line 34, to delete "by order".
Amendment agreed to.
Section 1, as amended agreed to.
SECTION 2.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 7, lines 16 to 18, to delete subsection (4) and substitute the following new subsection:
"(4) The collective citation ‘the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 to 1998' shall include sections 7 to 10, 13, 14 and 16 of this Act, and those Acts and those sections shall be construed together as one Act.".
This is a technical amendment and is designed to correct what we see as an error in the Bill.
This amendment is of a drafting nature and is desirable. I am happy to accept it.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 2, as amended, agreed to.
SECTION 3.
Government amendment No. 3:
In page 8, subsection (2)(b), line 10, to delete "text" and substitute "texts".
This is a purely drafting amendment.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 3, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 4 and 5 agreed to.
SECTION 6.
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 10, subsection (2), between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following new paragraph:
"(e) the report on the 1996 Accession Convention when published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.".
This is a technical amendment which remedies an omission in the Bill. The reports of the 1968 Convention and all Accession Conventions are covered in the Bill and will be evidence under section 6. However, this is not the case with the 1996 Accession Convention which we consider should be provided for.
This amendment proposes the insertion in section 6 of a reference to the explanatory report on the 1996 Accession Convention when published in the Official Journal. Section 6 provides that judicial notice shall be taken of the various explanatory reports on both the 1968 Convention and Accession Conventions which are specified in subsection (2). The reason there is no reference to the explanatory report on the 1996 Accession Convention in the Bill as published is that the report is yet to be made available by the designated rapporteur. In the event of it becoming available before the Bill is passed by both Houses, an amendment will be drafted to take it into account. It would not be appropriate for me to make reference to a report which is not yet in being in the way suggested in the Senator's amendment. Also, the amendment does not quite fit in with the existing wording in subsection (2).
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Section 6 agreed to.
Sections 7 and 8 agreed to.
SECTION 9.
Government amendment No. 5:
In page 11, subsection (2), line 23, to delete "that order" and substitute "the maintenance order".
The purpose of this drafting amendment is to clarify what is meant by subsection (2) which provides, inter alia, that an enforceable maintenance order is deemed to be an order made by the District Court from the date on which the maintenance order was made. Without the amendment, the subsection might possibly be interpreted to mean that the maintenance order would only be regarded as a District Court order from the later time when it was declared to be an enforceable maintenance order.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 9, as amended, agreed to.
Section 10 agreed to.
SECTION 11.
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 14, subsection (4)(a), line 16, to delete "1997," and substitute "1998,".
This is a technical amendment designed to correct an error.
This amendment updates the citation from the Central Banks Acts to take account of the 1998 Act which was recently passed. I thank Senator O'Meara for bringing forward the amendment which I accept.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 11, as amended, agreed to.
SECTION 12.
I move amendment No. 7:
In page 15, between lines 10 and 11, to insert new subsection:
"(4) Any rule of court or order under the Companies Act, 1963, inconsistent with the Conventions, is hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency, and the Conventions shall have effect in the State.
This amendment relates to the fact that in 1996 the Government decided to ratify conventions on legalisation of documents, also called the "Apostille". However, there have been delays in making the secondary instruments required arising from this. In the context of this Convention we propose that primary legislation, that is, this amendment, could and should be used to enable ratification. Otherwise, the delay will continue. Failure to ratify these conventions is leading to costs for businesses. It is time the Government carried out its duty and this amendment provides it with an opportunity to so do.
This is a curious amendment. The three conventions which are the subject of the amendment are concerned with the legalisation of documents and have already been signed by the State. Ratification of these conventions is dependent upon certain administrative and other changes being put in place. In particular, it will be necessary to have certain adjustments made to the Rules of the Superior Courts. Amendments would also have to be made to the Companies Forms Order, 1964. The latter issue is the responsibility of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I understand that progress on the preparation of the necessary statutory instrument to amend the order is well advanced. Regarding the rules of court, my Department has been actively pursuing the matter and I am hopeful that appropriate rules will soon be finalised. Once the appropriate framework is in place we will proceed with ratification as expeditiously as possible. In the circumstances, therefore, I think Senators will understand why I am not in a position to accept the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Section 12 agreed to.
Sections 13 to 16, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 17.
Government amendment No. 8:
In page 18, subsection (1), between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following definition:
"‘maintenance' means maintenance within the meaning of the Lugano Convention;".
The reason for inserting this definition is to provide that the term "maintenance" is defined for purposes of the Lugano Convention in Part III of the Bill. Maintenance is already defined in Part II of the Bill which relates to the 1968 Judgments Convention and Accession Conventions. The Lugano Convention essentially parallels the 1968 Convention article for article.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 17, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 18 to 23, inclusive, agreed to.
First to Ninth Schedules, inclusive, agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments, received for final consideration and passed.
Sitting suspended at 4.40 p.m. and resumed at 6 p.m.