L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
MAINTENANCE ORDERS (FACILTIES FOR
ENFORCEMENT) ACT
CHAPTER 45:05
Act
6 of 1922
Amended by
19 of 1922
26 of 1949 4 of 1972
1 – 17 ... 1/2012 (inclusive) by L.R.O.
Pages Authorised
Current Authorised Pages
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Index
of
Subsidiary Legislation
Page
Supreme Court (Maintenance Orders Registration) Rules 11
(Rules of Court 22/11/1923 and R. 1/1970)
Magistrate’s Courts (Maintenance) Rules 12
(Gaz. 23/6/23 Nt. 221)
Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Orders 16


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CHAPTER 45:05
MAINTENANCE ORDERS (FACILITIES FOR ENFORCEMENT) ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Enforcement in Guyana of maintenance orders made in England or
Ireland.
4. Transmission of maintenance orders made in Guyana.
5. Provisional orders of maintenance against persons resident in
England or Ireland.
6. Confirmation by court of summary jurisdiction of maintenance
order made in England or Ireland.
7. Regulations to facilitate communications between courts.
8. Mode of enforcing orders.
9. Application of Cap. 10:02.
10. Proof of document signed by officers of court.
11. Depositions to be evidence.
12. Extension of Act.
__________________________ 1929 Ed.
c. 146
1953 Ed.
c. 28 _______________________________________________________
6 of 1922 An Act to facilitate the Reciprocal Enforcement in Guyana
of Maintenance Orders made in the other parts of the
Commonwealth.
[6TH MAY, 1922]
Short title.
Interpretation.
1. This Act may be cited as the Maintenance Orders
(Facilities for Enforcement) Act.
2. For the purposes of this Act—
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[4 of 1972]

Enforcement in
Guyana of
maintenance
orders made in
England or
Ireland.
[4 of 1972]
“certified copy,” in relation to an order of the court, means a
copy of the order certified by the proper officer of the
court to be a true copy;
“dependants” means those whom that person, according to
the law in force in the Commonwealth territory in which
the maintenance order was made is liable to maintain;
“maintenance order” means an order, other than an order of
affiliation, for the periodical payment of sums of money
towards the maintenance of the wife or other dependants
of the person against whom the order is made;
“the Minister” means the Minister charged with responsibility
for the administration of this Act;
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules of court;
“the Secretary of State” means the appropriate Secretary of
State of the Government of the United Kingdom.
3. (1) Where a maintenance order has, whether before
or after the commencement of this Act, been made against
anyone by a court in England or Ireland, and a certified copy
of the order has been transmitted by the Secretary of State to
the Minister, the Minister shall send a copy of the order to the
prescribed officer of a court in Guyana for registration; and on
receipt thereof the order shall be registered in the prescribed
manner and shall, from the date of the registration, be of the
same force and effect, and, subject to this Act, all proceedings
may be taken thereon, as if it had been an order originally
obtained in the court in which it is so registered, and that
court shall have power to enforce it accordingly.
(2) The court in which an order is to be registered
as aforesaid shall, if the court by which it was made was a
court of superior jurisdiction, be the High Court of Guyana,
and, if the court was not a court of superior jurisdiction, be a
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Transmission
of
maintenance
orders made
in Guyana.
Provisional
orders of
maintenance
against persons
resident in
England or
Ireland.
[4 of 1972]
court of summary jurisdiction.
4. Where a court in Guyana, has, whether before or
after the commencement of this Act, made a maintenance
order against anyone, and it is proved to that court that that
person is resident in England or Ireland, the court shall send
to the Minister for transmission to the Secretary of State a
certified copy of the order.
5. (1) Where an application is made to a court of
summary jurisdiction in Guyana for a maintenance order
against any person, and it is proved that that person is
resident in England or Ireland, the court may in his absence, if
after hearing the evidence it is satisfied of the justice of the
application, make any order it might have made if a summons
had been duly served on him and he had failed to appear at
the hearing, but in that case the order shall be provisional
only and shall have no effect unless and until confirmed by a
competent court in England or Ireland as aforesaid.
(2) The evidence of any witness examined on the
application shall be put into writing, and his deposition shall
be read over to and signed by him.
(3) Where an order aforesaid is made, the court
shall send to the Minister, for transmission to the Secretary of
State, the depositions so taken and a certified copy of the
order, together with a statement of the grounds on which the
making of the order might have been opposed if the person
against whom the order is made had been duly served with a
summons and had appeared at the hearing, and any
information the court possesses for facilitating the
identification of that person and ascertaining his
whereabouts.
(4) Where any provisional order aforesaid has
come before a court in England or Ireland for confirmation,
and has by that court been remitted to the court of summary
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Confirmation
by court of
summary
jurisdiction of
maintenance
order made in
England or
Ireland.
[4 of 1972]
jurisdiction which made it for the purpose of taking further
evidence, that court or any other court of summary
jurisdiction sitting and acting for the same place shall, after
giving the prescribed notice, proceed to take the evidence in
like manner and subject to the like conditions as the evidence
in support of the original application.
(5) If upon hearing the evidence it appears to the
court that the order ought not to have been made, the court
may rescind the order, but in any other case the depositions
shall be sent to the Minister and dealt with in like manner as
the original depositions.
(6) The confirmation of an order made under this
section shall not affect any power of a court of summary
jurisdiction to vary or rescind that order:
Provided that on the making of a varying or rescinding
order the court shall send a certified copy thereof to the
Minister for transmission to the Secretary of State, and, in the
case of an order varying the original order, the order shall not
have any effect unless and until confirmed in like manner as
the original order.
(7) The applicant shall have the same right of
appeal (if any) against refusal to make a provisional order as
he would have had against a refusal to make the order had a
summons been duly served on the person against whom the
order is sought to be made
6. (1) Where a maintenance order has been made by a
court in England or Ireland, and the order is provisional only
and has no effect unless and until confirmed by a court of
summary jurisdiction in Guyana, and a certified copy of the
order, together with the depositions of witnesses and a
statement of the grounds on which the order might have been
opposed, has been transmitted to the Minister, and it appears
to the Minister that the person against whom the order was
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made is resident in Guyana, the Minister may send those
documents to the prescribed officer of a court of summary
jurisdiction with a requisition that a summons be issued
calling upon the person to show cause why that order should
not be confirmed, and upon receipt of the documents and that
requisition the court shall issue the summons and cause it to
be served upon that person.
(2) A summons so issued may be served in Guyana
in the same manner as if it had been originally issued by a
court of summary jurisdiction having jurisdiction in the place
where the person happens to be.
(3) At the hearing it shall be open to the person on
whom the summons was served to raise any defence which
he might have raised in the original proceedings had he been
a party thereto but no other defence, and the certificate from
the court which made the provisional order stating the
grounds on which the making of the order might have been
opposed if the person against whom the order was made had
been a party to the proceedings shall be conclusive evidence
that those grounds are grounds on which objection may be
taken.
(4) If at the hearing the person served with the
summons does not appear or, on appearing, fails to satisfy the
court that the order ought not to be confirmed, the court may
confirm the order either without modification or with any
modifications to the court after hearing the evidence seeming
just.
(5) If the person against whom the summons was
issued appears at the hearing and satisfies the court that for
the purpose of any defence it is necessary to remit the case to
the court which made the provisional order for the taking of
any further evidence, the court may so remit the case and
adjourn the proceedings for the purpose.

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Regulations to
facilitate
communica-
tions between
courts.
[4 of 1972]

Mode of
enforcing
orders.
c. 7:01
(6) Where a provisional order has been confirmed
under this section, it may be varied or rescinded in like
manner as if it had originally been made by the confirming
court, and where on an application for rescission or variation
the court is satisfied that it is necessary to remit the case to the
court which made the order for the purpose of taking any
further evidence, the court may so remit the case and adjourn
the proceedings for the purpose.
(7) Where an order has been so confirmed, the
person bound thereby shall have the same right of appeal (if
any), against the confirmation of the order as he would have
had against the making of the order had the order been one
made by the court confirming the order.
7. The Minister may make regulations as to the
manner in which a case can be remitted by a court authorised
to confirm a provisional order to the court which made the
provisional order, and generally for facilitating
communications between those courts.
8. (l) A court of summary jurisdiction in which an
order has been registered under this Act or by which an order
has been confirmed under this Act, and the officers of that
court, shall take all steps for enforcing the order as may be
prescribed, and the order shall be enforceable in like manner
as if it were a judgment for the payment of money under the
Summary Jurisdiction (Petty Debt) Act:
Provided that, if the order is of such a nature that if made
by the court in which it is so registered, or by which it is so
confirmed, it would be enforceable in like manner as an order
of affiliation, the order shall be so enforceable.
(2) A warrant of distress or commitment issued by
a court of summary jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing
an order so registered or confirmed may be executed in any
part of Guyana.
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Application of
c. 10:02.

c. 3:05.
Proof of
document
signed by
officers of
court.
Depositions to
be evidence.

Extension of
Act.
[4 of 1972]
9. The Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act shall
apply to proceedings before courts of summary jurisdiction
under this Act in like manner as they apply to proceedings in
summary conviction offences, and the power of the Minister
to make regulations under section 75 of the Summary
Jurisdiction (Magistrates) Act shall include power to make
rules regulating the procedure of courts of summary
jurisdiction under this Act.
10. Any document purporting to be signed by a judge
or officer of a court in England or Ireland shall, until the
contrary is proved, be deemed to have been so signed without
proof of the signature or judicial or official character of the
person appearing to have signed it, and the officer of a court
by whom a document is signed shall, until the contrary is
proved, be deemed to have been the proper officer of the
court to sign it.
11. Depositions taken in a court in England or Ireland
for the purposes of this Act may be received in evidence in
proceedings before courts of summary jurisdiction under this
Act.
12. (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that reciprocal
provisions have been made by the legislature of any
Commonwealth territory other than the United Kingdom for
the enforcement within that territory of maintenance orders
made by courts within Guyana, the Minister may by order
declare that this Act shall extend to maintenance orders made
by courts in that Commonwealth territory in like manner as it
extends to maintenance orders made within England and
Ireland, and on that order being made this Act shall extend
accordingly.
(2) In the application of this Act to a
Commonwealth territory other than the United Kingdom,
orders intended to be registered or confirmed in that territory
shall be transmitted to the Minister (by whatever name called)
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of the Government of that territory charged with
responsibility for this function or to the officer administering
the Government of that territory.
____________________

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SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
_________________
Rules of Court
22/11/1923
R.1/1970
SUPREME COURT (MAINTENANCE ORDERS
REGISTRATION) RULES
made under section 9
Citation.
Prescribed
officer.
Registration of
maintenance
orders
[R.1/1970]

1. These Rules may be cited as the Supreme Court
(Maintenance. Orders Registration) Rules.
2. The Registrar for the time being shall be the
prescribed officer of the court in Guyana under section 3(1) of
the Act.
3. (1) All orders, copies of which are transmitted for
their enforcement to the Minister under the Act and by him
sent to the court, shall be entered in a register to be kept for
that purpose, and the copies so transmitted shall be filed in
the registry.
(2) The register aforesaid shall be open to
inspection upon payment of a search fee of fifty cents.
(3) Office copies of orders so registered shall be
supplied upon payment of the proper fees.
(4) Any order sent to the Minister under the Act
for enforcement in England or Ireland, or in any part of the
Commonwealth to which the Act extends, shall be entered in
the said register and a note made thereof in the court minutes
of the suit in which that order occurs.
(5) The prescribed officer may give such further
departmental directions as to the filing, registration, and
trans-mission of any order in these rules mentioned as he
shall think proper.
____________________
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Gaz. 23/6/23
Nt. 221.

Citation.
Prescribed
officer.
Final order
made outside
Guyana.

c. 10:02.
Provisional
Order made
outside
Guyana.

c. 10:02.
Register to be
kept.
MAGISTRATES’ COURTS (MAINTENANCE)
RULES
made under section 9
1. These Rules may be cited as the Magistrates' Courts
(Maintenance) Rules.
2. The Magistrate for the time being shall be the
prescribed officer of each Court of Summary Jurisdiction in
Guyana under section 3(1) of the Act.
3. The copy of an order made by a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction outside Guyana and sent to the Minister for its
enforcement under the Act shall be sent to the Magistrate of
the District in which the defendant resides or is alleged to
reside and shall be enforced as if it were an order of that
Court under the Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act.
4. The copy of a provisional order made by a Court of
Summary Jurisdiction outside Guyana and received by the
Minister under section 6 of the Act shall be sent to the
Magistrate of the District in which the defendant resides or is
alleged to reside with the accompanying documents and
requisition for the issue of a summons, and such summons
shall forthwith be issued and served in accordance with the
Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act.
5. All orders, copies of which are transmitted to the
Minister under the Act and by him sent to any Magistrate for
their enforcement, or, where provisional, for their
confirmation and enforcement, shall be entered in the register
to be kept for that purpose on the date on which they are
received and such register shall distinguish them from the
other entries and shall also distinguish provisional from final
orders in such manner as may be most convenient so as to
show that they are entered in pursuance of the Act and the
copies of all documents so transmitted shall be filed by the
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Notice to be
sent to Court of
Origin.

Payments how
to be made.


Enforcement
and remittance
of payments.

Taking further
evidence.


Orders for
enforcement in
England etc.
Clerk of the Court.
6. When an order to which the Act applies has been
provisionally made outside Guyana and has been confirmed
with or without modification under section 6 of the Act by a
Court of Summary Jurisdiction or the Court has decided not
to confirm it the Magistrate shall send notice thereof to the
Court from which it issued and also to the Minister.
7. When an order has been registered in a Court of
Summary Jurisdiction under section 3 of the Act or a
provisional order has been confirmed by a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction under section 6, that Court shall, unless satisfied
that it is undesirable to do so, direct that all payments due
thereunder shall be made through an officer of the Court or
such other person as it may specify for the purpose and such
direction may be given without any complaint or application.
8. The person through whom the payments are
directed to be made shall collect the moneys due under the
order in the same manner as though it were an affiliation
order, and may take proceedings in his own name for
enforcing payment and shall send the moneys when so
collected to the Accountant General for remittance through
the Crown Agents or otherwise to the Court from which the
order originally issued.
9. When a provisional order made in Guyana under
section 5 of the Act has been remitted under section 5(4) to a
Court of Summary Jurisdiction for the purpose of taking
further evidence, notice specifying the further evidence
required and the time and place fixed for taking it shall be
sent by the Magistrate or the Clerk of the Court to the person
on whose application the provisional order was made.
10. Any order sent to the Minister under the Act for
enforcement in England or Ireland or in any part of the
Commonwealth to which the Act extends shall be entered in
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Marriage
certificate to be
attached to
depositions.

Grounds of
opposition
form.


Sterling
currency

Mutual
jurisdiction of
courts.

Departmental
directions.

the said Register and a note etc. made thereof in the case
jacket of the suit in which the order occurs.
11. There should, wherever applicable, be attached to
the depositions mentioned in section 5(2) of the Act a certified
copy of the marriage certificate as an exhibit in proof of the
marriage, or its absence should be accounted for in such
depositions and also, if possible, a photograph together with a
full address and personal description of the defendant.
12. The form of statement of grounds on which the
making of the order might have been opposed mentioned in
section 5 (3) of the Act should be as nearly as circumstances
admit in the form set out in the Schedule. This form is
applicable to a provisional order for maintenance in favour of
a wife on the ground of husband’s desertion but it may be
adapted to suit other cases mutatis mutandis.
13. Any order made in Guyana under the Act should
state a Sterling weekly or monthly sum in Guyana dollars.
14. Any order confirmed by any Court whether of
Summary or Superior Jurisdiction in Guyana may be enforced
by any other Court in Guyana on being transmitted by the
prescribed officer of the one Court to the prescribed officer of
the other Court.
15. The Magistrate may give such further
departmental directions as to the filing, registration and
transmission of any order in the Act or in these Rules
mentioned as he shall think proper.
____________________

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SCHEDULE
Form I
GUYANA
In the Magisterial District
A.B.
Versus
C.B.
The grounds upon which the making of the order herein
might have been opposed if the said C.B. had been duly
served with a summons and had appeared at the hearing are:
1. That he was not married to the said A.B.
2. That his marriage to the said A.B. was void at
law.
3. That decree of divorce or of nullity of marriage
had been pronounced by a competent court.
4. That a decree of judicial separation or an order
having the effect of such a decree was in force
at the time of said hearing.
5. That he and his wife A.B. were living apart by
mutual consent or agreement.
6. That his wife had deserted him.
7. That A.B. had committed adultery which had
not been condoned connived at or by wilful
misconduct or neglect conducted by him.
8. That he had reasonable cause to leave his said
wife.
________________
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MAINTENANCE ORDERS (FACILITIES FOR
ENFORCEMENT) ORDER
made under section 12
1. This Order may be cited as the Maintenance Orders
(Facilities for Enforcement) Order.
2. The Maintenance Orders (Facilities for
Enforcement) Act shall extend to maintenance orders made
by courts within those parts of the Commonwealth named in
the Schedule, in like manner as it extends to maintenance
orders made within England and Ireland.
SCHEDULE
Parts of the Commonwealth Date of Order
in Council
Trinidad and Tobago………...…………………
Bermuda………………………..............................
St. Vincent ………………………………………..
Leeward Islands these comprising—
Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts,
Nevis and Anguilla………………………….
St. Lucia…………………………………………...
Barbados…………….…………………………….
Grenada…………………………………………...
Bahamas………………………………………......
The State of New South Wales and its
dependencies, in the Commonwealth of
Australia……………………………………...
Jamaica………………………………………..…...
Nigeria ……………………………………………
British Honduras…………………………………
The Territory for the Seat of Government of
the Common-wealth of
Australia……………………………………...
Island of Jersey …..………………………………
Bailiwick of Guernsey ………..............................
Northern Territory of Australia…...……………
20th July, 1922
22nd Aug., 1922
22nd Aug., 1922
19th Sept., 1922
19th Sept., 1922
3rd April, 1923
15th May, 1923
23rd Sept., 1924
3rd Feb., 1925
7th Mar., 1925
18th May, 1926
22nd May, 1928
28th Jan., 1929
18th Mar., 1954
16th Oct., 1957
7th Nov., 1961
Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Order
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Isle of Man………………………………………... 7th Nov., 1961
____________________
Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Order