Family Law Act 2019
Number 37 of 2019
FAMILY LAW ACT 2019
REVISED
Updated to 17 December 2020
This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Family Law Act 2019. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up to and including the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (25/2020), enacted 16 December 2020, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (Part 1) (Commencement) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 634 of 2020), made 16 December 2020, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.
Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 37 of 2019
FAMILY LAW ACT 2019
REVISED
Updated to 17 December 2020
Introduction
This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.
Related legislation
This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.
Annotations
This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.
An explanation of how to read annotations is available at
www.lawreform.ie/annotations.
Material not updated in this revision
Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.
Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.
A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at
www.irishstatutebook.ie.
Acts which affect or previously affected this revision
• Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020)
All Acts up to and including Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (25/2020), enacted 16 December 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision
• Family Law Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 585 of 2019)
All statutory instruments up to and including Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (Part 1) (Commencement) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 634 of 2020), made 16 December 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Number 37 of 2019
FAMILY LAW ACT 2019
REVISED
Updated to 17 December 2020
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title and commencement
PART 2
Amendments to Acts Relating to Family Law
2. Amendment of section 2 of Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989
3. Amendment of section 5 of Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996
4. Amendment of Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010
PART 3
Recognition of Certain Divorces, Legal Separations and Marriage Annulments
5. Definitions and application (Part 3) (Repealed)
6. Recognition of certain divorces, legal separations and marriage annulments granted in United Kingdom or Gibraltar before coming into operation of section (Repealed)
7. Recognition of certain divorces, legal separations and marriage annulments granted in United Kingdom or Gibraltar after coming into operation of section (Repealed)
Acts Referred to
Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (No. 24)
Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act 1986 (No. 24)
Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (No. 33)
Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 (No. 6)
Number 37 of 2019
FAMILY LAW ACT ACT 2019
REVISED
Updated to 17 December 2020
An Act to amend the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989; to amend the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996; to amend the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010; to make provision, in the event of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from membership of the European Union occurring without an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union setting out the arrangements for such withdrawal, for the recognition of certain divorces, legal separations and marriage annulments granted in the United Kingdom or Gibraltar; and to provide for related matters.
[25th October, 2019]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: