S.I. No. 84/2016 - Circuit Court Rules (Gender Recognition Act) 2016.

1. I have no connection to , who ordinarily resides at . (“the child”);

2. I have met the child for the purposes of this certificate.

3. I have read the certificate of .., medical practitioner, and I concur in my medical opinion with that certificate.

Signed .

Dated

*delete where appropriate

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These rules amend Order 59 of the Circuit Court Rules by the insertion of a new rule 8 and forms 37P, 37Q, 37R, 37S, 37T, 37U, and 37V to the schedule of forms annexed to those Rules to regulate the procedure in applications for an exemption order under

section 12

of the

Gender Recognition Act 2015

in respect of a child between 16 and 18 years of age.

4. †As the child’s *[parents] *[surviving parent] *[surviving guardian], *[I/we] your deponent(

s

) consent to the making of this application on behalf of the child.

†The child’s *[parents] *[surviving parent] *[surviving guardian], *[are/*is] .... of .... *[and .. of .] and I further beg to refer to the affidavit(

s

) of the said .. *[and ], indicating consent to the application made in these proceedings.]

†The child’s *[parents] *[surviving parent] *[surviving guardian], *[are/*is] .. of ... *[and.... of .] and an application will be made to the Court to dispense with the consent of . on the grounds that

*the consent cannot be obtained because .. cannot be identified or found

*the consent cannot be obtained because .. is failing or neglecting to respond to a request for consent

*the consent should not be obtained because the nature of the relationship between the child and ..... shows that it would not be in the interest of the safety or welfare of the child to contact ...

The facts supporting the said application to dispense with consent are ..

.......................................Deponent(

s

)

Sworn before me at................................................in the County of ..this day of . 20and *[I know the deponent/each of the deponents personally]*[the deponent/each of the deponents having been identified to me by of . who is personally known to me]*[the identity of the deponent/each of the deponents having been established by me by reference to the following document (being a relevant document within the meaning of

section 2

of the

Statutory Declarations Act 1938

), viz]Commissioner for Oaths/Practising Solicitor

*Delete where appropriate

†Use only the option which is appropriate to the case and delete the other two

Form 37R

AN CHÚIRT CHUARDA TEAGHLAIGH

THE CIRCUIT FAMILY COURT

CIRCUIT COUNTY OF

IN THE MATTER OF THE GENDER RECOGNITION ACT 2015

AFFIDAVIT OF [

Insert name of person swearing affidavit

]

I, [

Insert name of person swearing affidavit

], of . being aged eighteen years and upwards, MAKE OATH and say as follows

8. (1) In this rule

the “2015 Act” means the

Gender Recognition Act 2015

;

each of the expressions “Court”, “endocrinologist” and “medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the 2015 Act;

“guardian” has the same meaning as in section 12(7) of the 2015 Act.

Venue

(2) Any proceedings under this rule shall be brought in the county in which the child on whose behalf the application is being brought ordinarily resides.

Hearing to be otherwise than in public

(3) Where an application under sub-rule (4) is heard otherwise than in public in accordance with section 12(3) of the 2015 Act, only the officers of the Court, the applicant, the applicant’s legal representative (if any) and such other persons as the Judge in his discretion shall allow, shall be permitted to be present at the hearing.

Form of Proceedings

(4) An application under section 12 of the 2015 Act for an order exempting a child from the requirement to comply with section 9(2)(a) or 15(8)(b) of the 2015 Act shall be in the Form 37P in the Schedule of Forms and shall be made by originating motion ex parte by the next friend of the child grounded upon an affidavit, which shall be in the Form 37Q in the Schedule of Forms, sworn by the applicant.

Proofs where application intended under section 8 or section 11

(5) Where an application is intended to be made on behalf of the child for a gender recognition certificate, pursuant to section 8 of the 2015 Act or section 11 of the 2015 Act, the affidavit shall set out information sufficient to identify the child to whom the application relates and the circumstances of the application; shall identify the persons mentioned in section 12(4)(a) of the 2015 Act whose consent is required to the making of the application and confirm the deponent’s consent, where the deponent is such a person mentioned, and shall, in all cases, exhibit

(

a

) the certificate, in writing, of a medical practitioner, mentioned in section 12(4)(b)(i) of the 2015 Act in the Form 37S in the Schedule of Forms;

(

b

) the certificate, in writing, of an endocrinologist or psychiatrist, who has no connection to the child, mentioned in section 12(4)(b)(ii) of the 2015 Act, in the Form 37T in the Schedule of Forms;

(

c

) the birth certificate of the child, and

(

d

) where the child has changed name from the name appearing on the birth certificate by Deed Poll, the Order of Deed Poll concerned.

Proofs where application intended under section 15

(6) Where an application is intended to be made on behalf of the child for revocation of a gender recognition certificate, pursuant to section 15 of the 2015 Act, the affidavit shall set out information sufficient to identify the child to whom the application relates and the circumstances of the application; shall identify the persons mentioned in section 12(4)(a) of the 2015 Act whose consent is required to the making of the application and confirm the deponent’s consent, where the deponent is such a person mentioned, and shall, in all cases, exhibit

(

a

) the certificate, in writing, of a medical practitioner, mentioned in section 12(4)(c)(i) of the 2015 Act in the Form 37U in the Schedule of Forms;

(

b

) the certificate, in writing, of an endocrinologist or psychiatrist, who has no connection to the child, mentioned in section 12(4)(b)(ii) of the 2015 Act, in the Form 37V in the Schedule of Forms;

(

c

) the birth certificate of the child, and

(

d

) where the child has changed name from the name appearing on the birth certificate by Deed Poll, the Order of Deed Poll concerned.

Form of consent

(7) The consent of the child’s parents, surviving parent or guardian to the making of the application may be given

(

a

) in the affidavit of such person or of each such person (in the Form 37Q or Form 37R, as appropriate in the Schedule of Forms), or

(

b

) orally by such person or by each such person on the hearing of the application.

Order dispensing with consent

(8) Where an application under this rule includes an application to dispense with the requirement to obtain the consent of a person referred to in section 12(4)(a) of the 2015 Act to the making of an order, the affidavit grounding the application shall additionally set out the grounds and state and verify the facts supporting the grounds of the application to dispense with the requirement of such consent.

Court may direct notice

(9) The Court may, on the hearing of an application under this rule, receive any oral evidence or may direct service of notice of the application on any person.

Appeals under 2015 Act

(10) Any appeal to the Court under section 17 of the Act of 2015 shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Order 64C.”

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

26

th February

, 2016.

We, the Circuit Court Rules Committee, constituted pursuant to the provisions of

section 69

of the

Courts of Justice Act 1936

, by virtue of the powers conferred on us by

section 66

of the

Courts of Justice Act 1924

and

section 70

of the

Courts of Justice Act 1936

, (as applied by

section 48

of the

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961

) and

section 27

of the

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961

, and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do hereby, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice and Equality, make the annexed Rules of Court.

Dated this 20th day of October 2015.

(Signed): Raymond Groarke

(Chairman of the Circuit Court Rules Committee)

Alison Lindsay

Sarah Berkeley

Keith Walsh

Mairead Ahern

Rita Considine

Noel Rubotham

I concur in the making of the above Rules of Court.

Dated this 23rd day of February 2016.

Signed: FRANCES FITZGERALD,

Minister for Justice and Equality.

S.I. No. 84 of 2016

CIRCUIT COURT RULES (GENDER RECOGNTION ACT) 2016