Section 31E of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, as inserted, provides all judges of the Family Court, including magistrates enforcing foreign or domestic maintenance orders, with the power to issue a warrant of arrest to secure his attendance of an alleged maintenance debtor who has failed to obey an order to attend for questioning as to his means (paras 17–19).
Where, therefore, proceedings for the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders were transferred from magistrates sitting in the Family Court to a High Court judge for clarification of the extent of the magistrates’ powers in the event that the alleged maintenance defaulter failed to attend in response to an order requiring him to do so—
Held, that the magistrates sitting in the Family Court had power under section 31E of the 1984 Act to issue a warrant to secure the alleged defaulter’s attendance if he failed to obey an order to do so, such a direction being ancillary to the investigation by the court of the relevant issues before it; but that, since the alleged defaulter had not yet been personally served with notice of the hearing, the matter would be transferred back to the magistrates for continued efforts to be made to serve him (paras 4, 17–19).
The appearances were omitted by the court.