Legitimacy Rules
1974
1
In these Rules, unless
the context otherwise requires –
“Court” means
the Inferior Number of the Royal Court;
“Law” means
the Legitimacy
(Jersey) Law 1973;
“legitimated child”
has the same meaning as in the Law.[1]
2
A petition presented to
the Court under Article 6 of the Law for a decree declaring that the
petitioner is the legitimate child of the petitioner’s parents shall
state –
(a) the
full name of the petitioner and, if the petitioner be known by a name other
than that which appears in the certificate of the petitioner’s birth, the
name by which the petitioner is so known;
(b) the
capacity of the petitioner in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(1)
of the Law;
(c) the
full maiden name of the petitioner’s mother;
(d) the
date and place of birth of the petitioner; and
(e) the
grounds on which the petition is founded,
and shall, except by
leave of the Court, be accompanied by –
(i) a certified copy of the birth
certificate of the petitioner; and
(ii) an
affidavit by the petitioner verifying the petition so far as the petitioner is
able to do so and giving particulars of every person whose interest may be
affected by the making of the decree and the person’s relationship to the
petitioner.
3
A petition presented to
the Court under Article 6 of the Law for a decree declaring that the
petitioner’s own marriage, or that of the petitioner’s father and
mother, or that of the petitioner’s grandfather and grandmother, as the
case may be, was a valid marriage, shall state –
(a) the
full name of the petitioner and, if the petitioner be known by a name other
than that which appears in the certificate of the petitioner’s birth, the
name by which the petitioner is so known;
(b) the
capacity of the petitioner in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(1)
of the Law;
(c) the
date and place of birth of the petitioner;
(d) the
full name of the parties to the marriage the validity of which is in question
and the date and place of such marriage; and
(e) the
grounds on which the petition is founded,
and shall, except by
leave of the Court, be accompanied by –
(i) a certified copy of the birth
certificate of the petitioner;
(ii) a
certified copy of the certificate of the marriage the validity of which is in
question; and
(iii) an
affidavit by the petitioner verifying the petition so far as the petitioner is
able to do so and giving particulars of every person whose interest may be
affected by the making of the decree and the person’s relationship to the
petitioner.
4
A petition presented to
the Court under Article 6 of the Law for a decree declaring that the
petitioner became or has become a legitimated child or that the
petitioner’s parent or remoter ancestor became or has become a
legitimated child shall state –
(a) the
full name of the petitioner and, if the petitioner be known by a name other
than that which appears in the certificate of the petitioner’s birth, the
name by which the petitioner is so known;
(b) the
capacity of the petitioner in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(2)
of the Law;
(c) the
date and place of birth of the petitioner; and
(d) the
grounds on which the petition is founded,
and shall, except by
leave of the Court, be accompanied by –
(i) a certified copy of the birth
certificate of the petitioner;
(ii) such
documentary evidence in support of the petition as may be available; and
(iii) an
affidavit by the petitioner verifying the petition so far as the petitioner is
able to do so and giving particulars of every person whose interest may be
affected by the making of the decree and the person’s relationship to the
petitioner.
5
(1) A
petition presented to the Court under Article 7 of the Law shall
state –
(a) the
full name of the petitioner and, if the petitioner be known by a name other
than that which appears in the certificate of the petitioner’s birth, the
name by which the petitioner is so known;
(b) the
capacity of the petitioner in accordance with the provisions of Article 7(1)
or (1A) of the Law;
(c) the
full name of the husband if he is not the petitioner;
(d) the
full maiden name of the mother of the child and the place and date of the
marriage;
(e) the
full name and date of birth of the child;
(f) the
grounds relied upon to rebut the presumption that the child is legitimate,
and shall, except by leave
of the Court, be accompanied by –
(i) a
certified copy of the birth certificate of the child;
(ii) a
certified copy of the marriage certificate of the husband and the mother; and
(iii) an
affidavit by the petitioner verifying the petition so far as the petitioner is
able to do so and giving particulars of every person whose interest may be
affected by the making of the decree and the person’s relationship to the
child.[2]
(2) Upon
a petition being presented to the Court, if the child be living, the Court
shall appoint a guardian ad litem of the
child, unless the child is of full age and otherwise capable of acting on the
child’s own behalf,
(3) In
appointing a guardian ad litem, the Court
shall proceed of its own motion and shall have an absolute discretion as to the
person or body to be appointed.
(4) Where
a guardian ad litem has been appointed, such
guardian shall be made a respondent in the cause and the Court shall order that
a copy of the petition be served on the guardian.
(5) In
this Rule –
“husband”
means the husband of the mother at the time of the birth of the child;
“marriage”
means the marriage of the mother of the child to the man to whom she was joined
in wedlock at the time of the birth of the child.
6
The personal attendance
of the petitioner shall not be necessary for the purpose of presenting a
petition under the Law.
7
An affidavit for the
purpose of these Rules may contain statements of information or belief with the
sources and grounds thereof.
8
Where a petitioner
applying for a decree under Article 6 of the Law or decrees under Articles 6
and 7 of the Law is not of full age, the petition shall, unless otherwise
directed, be presented, and the affidavit required by these Rules to accompany
it made, by a guardian ad
litem appointed for the purpose under Rule 4/3
of the Royal Court Rules 1992.
9
When a petition is delivered to the Attorney General in accordance
with Article 6(6) or 7(4) of the Law, the Attorney General shall be
notified of the date when the petition is to be presented to the Court.
10
(1) Upon a petition being
presented to the Court under the Law, the Court, upon hearing the Attorney
General, shall fix a day for the hearing of the petition, being a day not
earlier than one month from the day on which the petition is presented, and
shall determine what persons shall be given notice of the application, and such
persons shall be made respondents to the petition.
(2) Such notice, together
with a copy of the relevant Act of the Court, shall be served on any such person
within Jersey personally through the medium of the Viscount’s Department
at the instance of the petitioner or the petitioner’s guardian ad litem, as the case may be, in order that such person
may appear in Court on the day so fixed and show cause, if such person so
desire, why the decree applied for should not be made.
(3) Where any such person
is out of Jersey or the person’s whereabouts are unknown, application
shall be made ex parte
to the Court for directions with respect to the service of such notice upon the
person, and the Court shall give such directions as it may deem necessary.[3]
(4) Every notice to a
respondent under this Rule shall be served at least 10 clear days before the
day fixed for the hearing of the petition.
(5) In paragraph (3) “the
Court” includes a Family Judge or the Judicial Greffier.[4]
11
All petitions under the Law may be presented to the Court and heard
in term or in vacation.
12
Where the Court has made a decree declaring that a child is
illegitimate and that child has acquired by way of inheritance any rights or
interests in immovable estate situate in Jersey prior to the pronouncement of
the decree, the Court shall order that the Act containing the decree be
registered in the Public Registry of Contracts.
13
These Rules may be cited as the Legitimacy Rules 1974.