Section 149 — Family Proceedings Act 1980: Transmission of applications by New Zealand residents to Convention countries

149 Transmission of applications by New Zealand residents to Convention countries (1) Where a person in New Zealand— (a) Claims to be entitled to recover in a Convention country maintenance from another person; or (b) Seeks to apply against another person for the variation, suspension, or discharge, of any order or other provision in force in a Convention country for the payment of maintenance— and that other person is for the time being subject to the jurisdiction of that Convention country, the first person may apply to the Secretary, in accordance with this section, to have the first person's claim for the recovery of maintenance from that other person transmitted to that Convention country. (2) An application to the Secretary under subsection (1) of this section shall be made through the Registrar of a District Court, who shall— (a) Assist the applicant in completing an application that will comply with the requirements of the law and practice of the Convention country; and (b) Send the application to the Secretary, together with such other documents (if any) as are required by that law and practice. (3) On receiving an application under this section from a Registrar, the Secretary shall transmit it, together with any accompanying documents, to the responsible authority in the Convention country, unless he is satisfied that— (a) The application is not made in good faith; or (b) The application does not comply with the requirements of the law applied by that Convention country. (4) The Secretary may request the Registrar of a District Court to provide such information relating to the application as may be specified in the request, and it shall be the duty of the Court to furnish the Secretary with the information that he requires. (5) Nothing in this section shall limit the jurisdiction of a District Court to make an order under section 157 of this Act against a person who is absent from New Zealand. Subsections (1) to (4) were amended, as from 1 July 1995, by section 10(1) Department of Justice (Restructuring) Act 1995 (1995 No 39) by omitting the words “ for Justice ” .