Northern Ireland Orders in Council

"adoption order" has the meaning given by Article 2(2) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987;

"associated", in relation to a person, is to be read with Article 3(3) to (6);

"child" means a person under the age of 18;

"cohabitee" and "former cohabitee" have the meaning given by Article 3(1);

"the court" is to be read with Article 34;

"development" means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development;

"dwelling-house" includes (subject to paragraph (5)) - 

(a) any building or part of a building which is occupied as a dwelling;

(b) any caravan, houseboat or structure which is occupied as a dwelling,

and any yard, garden, garage or outhouse belonging to it and occupied with it;

"family proceedings" means any proceedings - 

(a) under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to children; or

(b) under the provisions mentioned in paragraph (3);

"family proceedings court" has the meaning given in Article 38(4);

"harm" - 

(a) in relation to a person who has reached the age of 18 years, means ill-treatment or the impairment of health, and

(b) in relation to a child, means ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development;

"health" includes physical or mental health;

"ill-treatment" includes sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not physical;

"legal estate" includes an equity of redemption arising on the conveyance or assignment of a legal estate by way of mortgage;

"matrimonial charge" means a charge created by Article 5;

"matrimonial home rights" has the meaning given by Article 4;

"molest" includes incite, procure or assist any person to molest;

"mortgage" includes a charge;

"mortgagor" and "mortgagee" include any person deriving title under the original mortgagor or mortgagee;

"mortgage payments" includes any payments which, under the terms of the mortgage, the mortgagor is required to make to any person;

"non-molestation order" has the meaning given by Article 20(1);

"occupation order" means an order under Article 11, 13, 14, 15 or 16;

"parental responsibility" has the same meaning as in the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

"purchaser" means any person (including a lessee or mortgagee) who, for valuable consideration, takes an estate in land;

"relative", in relation to a person, means - 

(a) the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson or granddaughter of that person or of that person's spouse or former spouse, or

(b) the brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (whether of the full blood or of the half blood or by affinity) of that person or of that person's spouse or former spouse,

and includes, in relation to a person who is living or has lived with another person as husband and wife, any person who would fall within paragraph (a) or (b) if the parties were married to each other;

"relevant child", in relation to any proceedings under this Order, has the meaning given by Article 3(2);

"the relevant judicial authority", in relation to any order under this Order, means - 

(a) where the order was made by the High Court, a judge of that court;

(b) where the order was made by a county court, a judge or district judge of that or any other county court; or

(c) where the order was made by a court of summary jurisdiction, a resident magistrate;

"rules of court" includes family proceedings rules, county court rules and magistrates' courts rules (as well as rules of court as defined in section 21(4) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954);

"statutory provision" has the meaning given by section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

    (3) The provisions referred to in the definition of "family proceedings" are - 

(a) this Order;

(b) the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;

(c) the Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980;

(d) the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987;

(e) Part IV of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;

(f) section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990;

(g) Parts II, III, V and XV of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

(a) one spouse is entitled to occupy a dwelling-house by virtue of - 


(i) a beneficial estate or a contract; or

(ii) any statutory provision giving that spouse the right to remain in occupation; and



(b) the other spouse is not so entitled.

    (2) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the spouse not so entitled has the following rights ("matrimonial home rights") - 

(a) if in occupation, a right not to be evicted or excluded from the dwelling-house or any part of it by the other spouse except with the leave of the court given by an order under Article 11;

(b) if not in occupation, a right with the leave of the court so given to enter into and occupy the dwelling-house.

    (3) If a spouse is entitled under this Article to occupy a dwelling-house or any part of a dwelling-house, any payment or tender made or other thing done by that spouse in or towards satisfaction of any liability of the other spouse in respect of rent, mortgage payments or other outgoings affecting the dwelling-house is, whether or not it is made or done in pursuance of an order under Article 18, as good as if made or done by the other spouse.

    (4) A spouse's occupation by virtue of this Article - 

(a) is to be treated, for the purposes of the Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, as occupation by the other spouse as the other spouse's residence, and

(b) if the spouse occupies the dwelling-house as that spouse's only or principal home, is to be treated, for the purposes of Chapter II of Part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, as occupation by the other spouse as the other spouse's only or principal home.

    (5) If a spouse ("the first spouse") - 

(a) is entitled under this Article to occupy a dwelling-house or any part of a dwelling-house, and

(b) makes any payment in or towards satisfaction of any liability of the other spouse ("the second spouse") in respect of mortgage payments affecting the dwelling-house,

the person to whom the payment is made may treat it as having been made by the second spouse, but the fact that that person has treated any such payment as having been so made does not affect any claim of the first spouse against the second spouse to an estate in the dwelling-house by virtue of the payment.

    (6) If a spouse is entitled under this Article to occupy a dwelling-house or part of a dwelling-house by reason of an interest of the other spouse under a trust, the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (5) apply in relation to the trustees as they apply in relation to the other spouse.

    (7) This Article does not apply to a dwelling-house which has at no time been, and which was at no time intended by the spouses to be, a matrimonial home of theirs.

    (8) A spouse's matrimonial home rights continue - 

(a) only so long as the marriage subsists, except to the extent that an order under Article 11(5) otherwise provides, and

(b) only so long as the other spouse is entitled as mentioned in paragraph (1) to occupy the dwelling-house, except where provision is made by Article 5 for those rights to be a charge on an estate in the dwelling-house.