Cap. 242 Art. 5Power of court to make a provisional maintenance order against person residing in a reciprocating country.

(1) Where an application is made to a court in Malta for a maintenance order against a person residing in a reciprocating country and it is shown to the court that it would have jurisdiction by virtue of any enactment to make a maintenance order if -

(a) that person were domiciled in Malta; and

(b) a summons to appear before the court to answer to the demand had been duly served on him, the court shall have jurisdiction to hear the application and may, subject to subarticle (2), make a maintenance order on the application as if a summons had been duly served on the person aforesaid and such person had failed to make appearance at the hearing.

(2) A maintenance order made by virtue of this article shall be a provisional order.

(3) Where a court makes a maintenance order which is by virtue of this article a provisional order, the following documents, that is to say -

(a) a certified copy of the maintenance order;

(b) a document, authenticated by the registrar of the court making the order, setting out or summarising the evidence given in the proceedings;

(c) a certificate signed by the said registrar certifying that in the opinion of the court the grounds stated in the certificate are the grounds on which the making of the order might have been opposed by the debtor under the order;

(d) a statement giving such information as was available to the court as to the whereabouts of the debtor;

(e) a statement giving such information as the said registrar possesses for facilitating the identification of the debtor; and

(f) where available, a photograph of the debtor, gives sufficient information to justify that being done.

(4) A maintenance order made by virtue of this article which has been confirmed by a competent court in a reciprocating country shall be treated for all purposes as if the court which made the order had made it in the form in which it was confirmed and as if the order had never been a provisional order, and subject to article 6, any such order may be enforced, varied or revoked accordingly.