The Children (Parental Responsibility Agreement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Made: 23rd September 1996

Coming into operation: 4th November 1996

The Department of Finance and Personnel, in exercise of the powers vested in it by Articles 7(2) and (3) and 183(1) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Children (Parental Responsibility Agreement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 4th November 1996.

Form of parental responsibility agreement

2

A parental responsibility agreement shall be in the form set out in the Schedule.

Recording of parental responsibility agreement

3

• (1) A parental responsibility agreement shall be recorded by filing the agreement, together with two copies, in the Office of Care and Protection.

• (2) Upon the filing of the agreement and the two copies in the Office of Care and Protection, the Office shall seal the copies and send one to the child’s mother and the other to the child’s father.

SCHEDULE

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AGREEMENT

Article 7(1)(b) and (2) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 23rd September 1996.

James McKeown — Assistant Secretary

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations prescribe the form to be used for parental responsibility agreements under Article 7(1)(b) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Children Order”). They also prescribe the manner of recording parental responsibility agreements.

A parental responsibility agreement is one way in which a father can acquire parental responsibility for a child (defined in Article 6 of the Children Order) where the mother and father of the child were not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth (within the meaning of Article 155 of the Children Order). Where the child’s mother and father were so married, each parent has parental responsibility for the child automatically.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2)