|
Affiliation And Maintenance Of Children
Continued from last Edition
(a) obtain-
(i) the name and address of his employer, or of each of his employers if he
has more than one;
(ii) such particulars as to the defendant's earnings as may be so specified;
and
(iii) such prescribed particulars as may be so specified for the purpose of
enabling the defendant to be identified by his employer; and
(b) order any person appearing to the court to be an employer of the
defendant to give to the court, within a period specified by the order, a
statement signed by him or on his behalf of such particulars as may be
specified by the order of all earnings of the defendant which fell to be
paid by that person during such period as may be so specified.
(2) A document purporting to be a statement of the kind mentioned in
subsection (1) shall, in any proceedings mentioned in that subsection, be
received in evidence and be deemed to be such a statement without further
proof, unless the contrary is shown.
35. (1) The court by which an attachment of earnings order has been made
shall, on the application of the person to whom the order is directed, or of
the defendant, or of the person in whose favour the order was made,
determine whether payments to the defendant, or a particular class or
description of such payments, specified by the application are earnings for
the purposes of that order; and the person to whom the order is directed
shall be entitled to give effect to any determination for the time being in
force under this subsection. Powers of court to determine whether payments
are earnings
(2) A person to whom an attachment of earnings order is directed who makes
an application under subsection (1) shall not incur any liability for
failing to comply with the order in relation to any payments of the class or
description specified by the application which are made by him to the
defendant while the application, or any appeal in consequence thereof, is
still on foot and undetermined.
36. (1) The officer to whom an employer pays any sum in pursuance of an
attachment of earnings order shall pay that sum, in accordance with rules of
court, to the person specified by the attachment of earnings order as being
the person entitled to receive payments under the related maintenance order.
Miscellaneous provisions as to payments
(2) Any sums received, by virtue of an attachment of earnings order, by the
person entitled to them shall be deemed to be payments made by the defendant
so as to discharge-
(a) first, any sums for the time being due and unpaid under the related
maintenance order (a sum due at an earlier date being discharged before a
sum due at a later date); and (b) secondly, any costs incurred in
proceedings relating to the maintenance order which were payable by the
defendant when the attachment of earnings order was made or last varied.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in any other law, an employer may retain the
prescribed amount for his own use out of any balance of the defendant's
earnings, to defray his reasonable costs of compliance with an attachment of
earnings order.
37. (1) In relation to earnings falling to be paid by the Government, this
Act shall have effect subject to the following modification, that is to say:
Earnings paid by the government
(a) the earnings shall be treated as falling to be paid by the chief officer
for the time being of the department, office or other body concerned; and
(b) section thirty-eight shall not apply except in relation to a failure by
the defendant to comply with an order under section thirty-four.
(2) If any question arises, in connection with any proceedings relating to
an attachment of earnings order, as to what department, office or other body
is concerned for the purposes of this section, or as to whom for those
purposes is the chief officer thereof, that question shall be referred to
and determined by the Minister responsible for finance.
(3) A document purporting to set out a determination of the Minister
responsible for finance under subsection (2) and to be signed by an official
of the Ministry responsible for community development and social welfare
shall, in any proceedings mentioned in that subsection, be admissible in
evidence and shall be deemed to contain an accurate statement of such a
determination unless the contrary is shown.
(4) The provisions of this Act shall extend to apply to a pension or other
allowance granted under any law in Zambia.
38. (1) A person who- Offences
(a) fails to comply with an attachment of earnings order or any order of the
court given under this Part; or
(b) gives a notice or statement in pursuance of such an order, knowing the
same to be false in a material particular;
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine
not exceeding five thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to both. (2) It shall be a defence for a person
charged with an offence by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) to
prove that he took all reasonable steps to comply with the order in
question.
(As amended by Act No. 13 of 1994)
PART VII MISCELLANEOUS
39. (1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the clerk of a subordinate
court who is entitled to receive payments under a maintenance order for
transmission to another person shall not apply for an attachment of earnings
order, or (except as required under section twenty-nine) an order
discharging or varying an attachment of earnings order, in respect of those
payments unless he is requested in writing to do so by a person entitled to
receive the payments through him; but where such a request is made-
(a) he shall comply with the request; and
(b) the person by whom the request was made shall have the same liabilities
for all the costs properly incurred in or about any proceedings taken in
pursuance of the request as if the proceedings had been taken by that
person;
|
