PART VI

Declarations of Parentage

33. —In this Part—

“the Court” means the Circuit Court;

“prescribed” means prescribed by rules of court.

34. —(1) The Court shall have jurisdiction to grant a declaration under this Part.

(2) The jurisdiction conferred on the Court by this section shall be exercised by the judge of the circuit where any party to the proceedings ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation or, where no party to the proceedings ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation in the State, by a judge assigned to the Dublin Circuit.

(3) The jurisdiction conferred by this section is in addition to any other jurisdiction to grant a declaration of parentage or to make an order which has the effect of such a declaration.

35. —(1) (a) A person (other than an adopted person) born in the State, or

(b) any other person (other than an adopted person),

may apply to the Court in such manner as may be prescribed for a declaration under this section that a person named in the application is his father or mother, as the case may be, or that both the persons so named are his parents.

(2) An application may be made under subsection (1) of this section notwithstanding the fact that any person named in the application as the father or the mother or a parent, as the case may be, is not, or may not be, alive.

(3) Where a person not born in the State makes an application for a declaration by virtue of subsection (1)(b) of this section, he shall specify in the application the reasons for seeking the declaration from the Court, and the Court shall refuse to hear or refuse to continue hearing, as the case may be, the application if at any stage it considers that there are no good and proper reasons for seeking the declaration.

(4) Where a person makes an application for a declaration under this section by his next friend the Court shall refuse to hear or refuse to continue hearing, as the case may be, the application if at any stage the Court considers that it would be against the interests of the applicant to determine the application.

(5) On an application under this section the Court may at any stage of the proceedings, of its own motion or on the application of any party to the proceedings, direct that all necessary papers in the matter be sent to the Attorney General.

(6) Where on an application under this section the Attorney General requests to be made a party to the proceedings, the Court shall order that he shall be added as a party, and, whether or not he so requests, the Attorney General may argue before the Court any question in relation to the application which the Court considers necessary to have fully argued and take such other steps in relation thereto as he thinks necessary or expedient.

(7) The Court may direct that notice of any application under this section shall be given in the prescribed manner to such other persons as the Court thinks fit and where notice is so given to any person theCourt may, either of its own motion or on the application of that person or any party to the proceedings, order that that person shall be added as a party to those proceedings.

(8) Where on an application under this section it is proved on the balance of probabilities that—

(a) a person named in the application is the father, or

(b) a person so named is the mother, or

(c) persons so named are the parents,

of the applicant, the Court shall make the declaration accordingly.

(9) Any declaration made under this section shall be in a form to be prescribed and shall be binding on the parties to the proceedings and any person claiming through a party to the proceedings, and where the Attorney General is made a party to the proceedings the declaration shall also be binding on the State.

36. —(1) Rules of court may provide that any application for a declaration under section 35 of this Act shall contain such information as may be prescribed.

(2) Where any costs are incurred by the Attorney General in connection with any application for a declaration under section 35 of this Act, the Court may make such order as it considers just as to the payment of those costs by other parties to the proceedings.

(3) No proceedings on an application under section 35 of this Act shall affect any final judgment or decree already pronounced or made by any court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) On the hearing of an application under section 35 of this Act the Court may direct that the whole or any part of the proceedings shall be heard otherwise than in public, and an application for a direction under this subsection shall be so heard unless the Court otherwise directs.

(5) Where a declaration is made by the Court under section 35 of this Act, notification of that decision shall be given to an tArd-Chláraitheoir and shall be given in such manner as may be prescribed.