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	Statutes of Northern Ireland
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BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - LONG
TITLE

[2nd July 1976]
[{2}midwife] [{2} registered midwife {3}] who was so present or has
examined the body. B>(4) A certificate for the purposes of paragraph
(3) shall C >>( a ) state that the child was not born alive; and
C >>( b ) where possible, state to the best of the knowledge and
belief of the person signing it E >> >(i) the cause of the
still-birth; E >>> (ii) the weight of the foetus; and E > < >(iii)
the estimated duration of the pregnancy. B >(5) A registered medical
practitioner or [{2}midwife]
[registered midwife] who is present at a still-birth or examines the
body of a still-born child shall (unless the still-birth has been
referred to the coroner or he or she intends to refer the
still-birth to the coroner) give an informant a certificate for the
purposes of paragraph (3) free of charge, without any request being
made in that behalf.

(6) Upon registering a still-birth a registrar shall, if so
required, give to the informant or to the person who has control
over, or who ordinarily effects the disposal of bodies at, any
burial ground or other place at which it is intended to dispose of
the body of a still-born child, a certificate in the prescribed
form that he has registered the still-birth.

(7) Where a registrar receives written notice of a still-birth
accompanied by such a certificate as is mentioned in paragraph (3),
he may, before registering the still-birth, give to the person
sending the notice a certificate in the prescribed form that he has
received notice of the still-birth.

(8) A certificate given under paragraph (6) or (7) shall

(a)be given only for the purposes of the disposal of the body of
the still-born child; and

(b)be free of charge.

(9) Where a person who has control over or ordinarily effects the
disposal of bodies at any burial ground or other place permits the
disposal of the body of a still-born child in that ground or place
he shall, unless he receives in respect of that child a certificate
under paragraph (6) or (7) or an order or authorisation of the
coroner, give notice of the disposal in the prescribed form to the
registrar of the district in which the still-birth occurred, within
seven days from the date of the disposal.

(10) The Registrar General shall provide forms for the purposes of
paragraph (9).

(11) Any person who fails to comply with paragraph (9) shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding #5 in respect of each disposal of which he
fails to give notice.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
16

16.(1) Where a coroner

(a)examines or causes to be examined the body of a child; and

(b) is satisfied that the body is that of a still-born child;

(2) Where a registrar receives from a coroner a certificate under
paragraph (1)

(a)he shall, if the certificate states that an inquest was held on
the still-born child, enter in the register of still-births the
particulars required to be registered concerning the still-birth, in
the prescribed form and manner, and state in the entry that they
were received from the coroner;

(b)he shall, if the certificate states that an inquest was not held
on the still-born child, upon receiving from an informant within
three months from the date of the birth or of the finding of the
body information concerning the still-birth, register the still-birth
forthwith in the prescribed form and manner and enter in the
register the cause of the still-birth as stated in the certificate.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
17

17.(1) No information obtained by virtue of Article 10(4)(ii), 15 or
16 with respect to a particular person shall be disclosed except

(a)so far as is authorised by Article 34; or

(b)as may be necessary for the performance by any person of his
functions under Article 10(5) in connection with the furnishing,
collection or collation of the information; or

(c)for the purposes of supplying information to the Department of
Health and Social Services where the information is necessary for
the performance by that Department of functions in connection with
health or personal social services; or

(d)for the purposes of supplying information to a government
department in respect of a claim for any allowance or benefit under
any statutory provision; or

(e)for the purposes of supplying information in respect of the
publication of statistics; or

(f)for the purposes of any legal proceedings or report of such
proceedings.

(2) If any person discloses any information in contravention of
paragraph (1), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable

(a)on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding #50, or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both; or

(b)on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding #100, or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
18

18.(1) The Registrar General may at any time give his written
authority for the re-registration of a birth where

(a)there is or has been an error in the entry of the birth; or

(b)an illegitimate child has been registered as legitimate; or

(c)no particulars relating to the father of an illegitimate child
have been entered in the register;

(2) Any re-registration under paragraph (1) shall be effected in the
prescribed manner.

(3) This Article shall have effect in relation to entries in
registers maintained under any statutory provision repealed by the
Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this
Order as well as to entries in registers maintained under this
Order.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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19.(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Registrar General may at any
time, on production of such evidence as appears to him to be
satisfactory, give his written authority for the re-registration of
the birth of a legitimated person whose birth is already registerd
under this Order (or any statutory provision repealed by the Births
and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this Order).

(2) Any re-registration under paragraph (1) shall be effected in the
prescribed manner and at such place as may be prescribed.

(3) The Registrar General shall not give his authority for the
re-registration of the birth of any such person as is mentioned in
paragraph (1) where information with a view to obtaining the
re-registration is not furnished to him by both parents, unless

(a)the name of a person acknowledging himself to be the father of
the legitimated person has been entered in the register in pursuance
of Article 14 or 18 of this Order, section 23 or 29 of the
Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or section
7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland) 1880; or

(b)the paternity of the legitimated person has been established by
an affiliation order or otherwise by a decree of a court of
competent jurisdiction; or

(c)a declaration of the legitimacy of the legitimated person has
been made under the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland) 1868 or any
corresponding enactment in force at the date of the declaration in
any part of Great Britain.

(4) The parents of any such person as is mentioned in paragraph
(1) or, where under paragraph (3) the birth of such a person may
be re-registered on information furnished by one of his parents and
the other parent is dead, the surviving parent of such a person
shall, within three months from the date of the marriage which
legitimates that person, furnish to the Registrar General such
information as is necessary to enable him to give his authority for
the re-registration of the birth of that person.

(5) Where

(a)the Registrar General believes any person to have become a
legitimated person within the meaning of the Legitimacy Acts
(Northern Ireland) 1928 to 1961 on the marriage of his parents; and

(b)the parents or either of them fail to furnish within a period
of three months from the date of the marriage such information as
may be necessary to enable the Registrar General to give his
authority for the re-registration of that person's birth;

(6) Where

(a)the Registrar General gives his authority for the re-registration
of the birth of any person under this Article; and

(b)the birth of that person is not so re-registered within three
weeks from the date on which the Registrar General gives his
authority for that re-registration;

(i)to attend personally at any convenient place, specified by the
Registrar General, within such time (not being less than ten days
from the date of issue of the notice) as may be so specified;

(ii)to sign the register in the presence of the registrar.

(7) Paragraphs (1) to (6) shall apply in relation to all persons
recognised by the law of Northern Ireland as having been legitimated
by the subsequent marriage of their parents, whether or not their
legitimation, or the recognition thereof, was effected by the
Legitimacy Act (Northern Ireland) 1928.

(8) The failure of the parents of a legitimated person or either
of them to furnish the information required by this Article shall
not affect the legitimation of that person.

(9) Any entry relating to the re-registration of the birth of any
person under this Article shall not be treated as evidence of the
legitimation of that person.

(10) This Article shall apply with such modifications as the
Department may, by regulations made subject to affirmative resolution,
prescribe in relation to births at sea of which the Registrar
General receives a return under any statutory provision.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
20

20.(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Registrar General may, on
production of such evidence as appears to him satisfactory, at any
time within three months from the date of the birth give his
written authority for the registration of the birth of a legitimated
person (whether his legitimation, or the recognition thereof, was
effected under the Legitimacy Act (Northern Ireland) 1928 or
otherwise) if his birth is not already duly registered under this
Order, or any statutory provision repealed by this Order.

(2) Paragraphs (2) and (3) (except sub-paragraph (a)), (8) and (9)
of Article 19 shall apply for the purposes of the registration of
a birth under this Article as they apply for the purposes of the
re-registration of a birth under that Article.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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21.(1) Subject to this Part, the death of every person shall be
registered by the registrar for the district

(a)in which the person died; or

(b)in which the person was ordinarily resident immediately before his
death;

(2) Where

(a)the body of any dead person is found; and

(b)there is not available any information as to the place where he
died;

(3) Where

(a)the body of any dead person is found in any river, lake, arm
of the sea or other area of water; and

(b)there is not available any information as to the place where he
died;

(4) The following persons shall be qualified to give information
concerning a death, that is to say:

(a)any relative of the deceased who has knowledge of the particulars
required to be registered concerning the death;

(b)any person present at the death;

(c)the executor or administrator of the deceased's estate;

(d)the occupier, at the time of the death, of the premises in
which the death, to the knowledge of the occupier, occurred;

(e)the person finding the body;

(f)the person taking charge of the body;

(g)the person procuring the disposal of the body.

(5) It shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7) and to Article 26,
be the duty

(a)of each such relative as is mentioned in paragraph (4)(a); or

(b)if there is no such relative as is mentioned in paragraph
(4)(a), of each such person mentioned in paragraph (4)(b); or

(c)if there is no such relative or person as is mentioned in
paragraph 4(a) and (b) of each person mentioned in paragraph (4)(c),
(d), (e), (f) and (g);

(6) Where any qualified informant gives the required information
concerning a death and signs the register every other qualified
informant shall cease to be under a duty to do so.

(7) Where a coroner receives any notification or notice under
section 7 or 8 of the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 in
respect of the death of any person or a coroner has been informed
of the death of any person and there is reasonable ground to
believe that the person has died as the result of an industrial
disease of the lungs, paragraph (5) shall have effect as if the
words "before the expiration of a period of five days from the
date of a death" were omitted.

(8) Where the Registrar General is satisfied, after such inquiry as
he thinks necessary, that the correct particulars concerning a death
are available, he may authorise the registration of the death even
if the information is not given by a qualified informant.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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22. Where a qualified informant in relation to a death sends to
the registrar a written notice of the occurrence of the death or
of the finding of the body, accompanied by such medical certificate
of the cause of the death as is required by Article 25 to be
delivered to a registrar, the particulars required by Article 21 to
be registered concerning the death need not be given within the
period mentioned in Article 21(5), but that Article shall have
effect as if for the reference to five days there were substituted
a reference to fourteen days.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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23.(1) Subject to the provisions of Article 24, where, after the
expiration of the relevant period from the date of the death of
any person, the death of that person has not been registered
because of the failure of a qualified informant to give the
necessary information concerning it, the registrar for the
registration district in which the death occurred may serve a notice
in writing upon any qualified informant requiring him

(a)to attend personally at the registrar's office or at any other
convenient place specified in the notice, within such time (not
being less than ten days from the date of issue of the notice) as
may be so specified;

(b)to give information to the best of the informant's knowledge and
belief of the particulars required to be registered concerning the
death;

(c)to sign the register in the presence of the registrar;

(2) In this Article "the relevant period" means

(a)where a notice under Article 22 has been duly given to the
registrar, fourteen days;

(b)in any other case, five days.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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24.(1) A registrar shall not register the death of a person after
the expiration of one year from the date of the death otherwise
than with the written authority of the Registrar General.

(2) Where the Registrar General gives an authority under paragraph
(1), that authority shall be noted in the entry relating to the
death in question.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to registration of a
death following an inquest.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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25.(1) The Registrar General shall furnish to every registrar forms
of certificates of the cause of death for use by registered medical
practitioners, and every registrar shall furnish the forms free to
any registered medical practitioner residing or practising in his
district.

(2) Where any person dies as a result of any natural illness for
which he has been treated by a registered medical practitioner
within twenty-eight days prior to the date of his death, that
practitioner shall sign and give forthwith to a qualified informant
a certificate in the prescribed form stating to the best of his
knowledge and belief the cause of death, together with such other
particulars as may be prescribed.

(3) A registered medical practitioner shall not give an informant a
certificate under paragraph (2) if

(a)he or any other person has referred the death of the deceased
person to the coroner under section 7 or 8 of the Coroners Act
(Northern Ireland) 1959 or he intends so to refer the death; or

(b)he has reason to believe that the deceased person has died as
the result of an industrial disease of the lungs.

(4) An informant shall, within five days from the date on which he
receives it, deliver to the registrar a certificate given to him
under paragraph (2), and the registrar shall enter in the register
the cause of death as stated in the certificate.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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26. In relation to a death where an inquest is held no person
shall

(a)be liable to attend a registrar upon a notice issued by him; or

(b)be under any duty to give any information in pursuance of this
Part.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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27. Where a registrar receives

(a)a statement under section 24 of the Coroners Act (Northern
Ireland) 1959 from a coroner on the result of his investigation of
any death; or

(b)a certificate under section 28 of the said Act of 1959 from a
coroner stating the cause of death of any person as disclosed by a
post-mortem examination;

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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28. Where a death has been registered in pursuance of information
given by an informant and subsequently there is received from a
coroner, in respect of the same death,

(a)a statement under section 24 of the Coroners Act (Northern
Ireland) 1959; or

(b)a certificate under section 28 of the said Act of 1959;

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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29.(1) Upon registering a death a registrar shall, unless the
coroner has issued an authorisation to bury or cremate the body,
forthwith give free of charge to the person giving information
concerning the death a certificate in the prescribed form under his
hand that he has registered the death.

(2) Upon receiving written notice of the occurrence of a death in
respect of which he has received a certificate under Article 25 a
registrar may, before registering the death, give to the person
sending the notice, if required to do so, a certificate in the
prescribed form under his hand that he has received notice of the
death.

(3) Where a person receives

(a)a certificate of the registrar under paragraph (1) or (2); or

(b)an authorisation of the coroner under section 9 of the Coroners
Act (Northern Ireland) 1959;

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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30.(1) Where a person who has control over or ordinarily effects
the disposal of bodies at any burial ground or other place permits
the disposal of the body of any person in that ground or place,
he shall, unless he receives in respect of the body a certificate
under Article 29 or an authorisation of the coroner, give notice of
the disposal in the prescribed form to the registrar of the
district in which the death occurred or in which the body was
found, within seven days from the date of the disposal.

(2) The Registrar General shall provide forms for the purposes of
paragraph (1).

(3) Any person who fails to comply with paragraph (1) shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding #5 in respect of each disposal of which he
fails to give notice.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
31

31.(1) Where the Registrar General is of the opinion that it is
desirable that any death entered in a register should be
re-registered on the ground that there is or has been an error in
the entry of the death, he may in writing authorise the
re-registration of the death.

(2) Any registration under paragraph (1) shall be effected in the
prescribed manner.

(3) This Article shall have effect in relation to entries in
registers maintained under any statutory provision repealed by the
Births and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this
Order as well as to entries in registers maintained under this
Order.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
32

32. The registers shall be maintained by recording the particulars
in question in such manner as may be prescribed.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
33

33.(1) If any register in the custody of a registrar, or before
reproduction, has been lost, destroyed or mutilated or has become
illegible, in whole or in part, the Registrar General shall be
notified forthwith and the register in the custody of a registrar
which has been mutilated or become illegible shall be immediately
delivered to the Registrar General.

(2) The Registrar General shall cause any such register to be
corrected or completed or a new register to be made by any process
which he thinks fit, and any such corrected, completed or new
register which is duly authenticated by the signature of the
Registrar General shall be of the same legal force and effect as
the original register.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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34.(1) The Registrar General shall cause indexes of all the entries
in the registers in his custody to be made and kept in the
General Register Office.

(2) Any person may

(a)search any index which is, under paragraph (1), kept in the
General Register Office at any time during which the Office is open
to the public; and

(b)require the Registrar General to furnish him with a certified
copy of an entry in the registers referred to in paragraph (1).

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply in relation to any
entries in a register of still-births, but upon payment of the
prescribed fee the Registrar General may, in any particular case

(a)cause a search to be made of any register of still-births;

(b)cause a certified copy to be issued of any entry in any such
register.

(4) The prescribed fee shall be paid to the Registrar General by
any person making or requiring a general or particular search or
requiring to be furnished with a certified copy under this Article.

(5) The Registrar General shall cause any certified copy of an
entry and any certificate under Article 40 given in the General
Register Office to be stamped with the seal of the Office, of
which judicial notice shall be taken.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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35.(1) An alteration shall not be made in an entry in any register
otherwise than in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4) or any
other statutory provision.

(2) Any person authorised by the Registrar General in that behalf
may

(a)correct in the prescribed manner any clerical error in any
register; and

(b)correct any error of fact or substance in the register if a
person requiring the error to be corrected (whether in pursuance of
a notice or otherwise) produces to him a statutory document in the
prescribed form specifying the error and the true facts, being a
declaration made by a qualified informant, in relation to the birth
or death in question, or by two credible persons possessing
knowledge of the true facts.

(3) Where an error of fact or substance (other than one relating
to the cause of death) occurs in a coroner's certificate issued in
relation to a death where an inquest is held, the coroner (or any
succeeding coroner for the area in question) shall, if he is
satisfied by evidence on oath or a statutory declaration that an
error exists, give a certificate in the prescribed form to the
officer having the custody of the register in which the information
is entered stating the nature of the error and the true facts as
ascertained by him on the evidence.

(4) Where an officer having the custody of the register in question
receives a certificate under paragraph (3) he shall, in such form
and manner as the Registrar General may direct, correct the error
without altering the original entry.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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36.(1) Where in the opinion of a registrar a register in his
custody contains an error of fact or substance he shall notify the
Registrar General to that effect.

(2) The Registrar General may require the registrar having custody
of the register to issue a notice to a qualified informant
requiring him to correct the error.

(3) The Registrar General may, or the registrar having custody of
the register, when required by the Registrar General to do so,
shall, by notice in writing require any qualified informant

(a)to attend personally at the registrar's office, the General
Register Office or at any other convenient place specified in the
notice, within such time (not being less than ten days from the
issue of the notice) as may be so specified; and

(b)to produce a statutory document in the prescribed form specifying
the error and the true facts, so far as they are known to him;

(4) Where the Registrar General is satisfied that an entry in a
register contains any error of fact or substance and that a
qualified informant is not, or two credible persons possessing
knowledge of the true facts are not, available in relation to that
entry, he may

(a)issue a direction to the registrar having custody of the
register, requiring him to make such a correction in the entry as
may be specified in the direction; or

(b)where the register is in the custody of the Registrar General,
cause to be made a correction in the entry.

(5) Where the Registrar General is satisfied that two or more
entries in any register have been made in respect of the same
event, he may issue a direction to the person having the custody
of the register in which the entries have been made, requiring him
to cancel such of the entries as he may specify.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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37.(1) The provisions of this Article shall apply only to persons
whose births are registered in Northern Ireland, and, without
prejudice to section 25 of the Adoption Act (Northern Ireland) 1967
relating to the giving or taking of a new name, to persons in
respect of whom there is an entry in the Adopted Children Register
maintained by the Registrar General under section 23 of that Act.

(2) Where, within two years from the date of the birth of any
child, the name by which it was registered is changed or, if it
was registered without a name, a name is given to the child, the
Registrar General upon delivery to him within two years from the
date of birth of the child, of a certificate in the prescribed
form signed

(a)if the name was changed or given in baptism, by the person who
performed the ceremony of baptism or who has custody of the
register in which the baptism is recorded, or

(b)if the name was changed or given otherwise than in baptism, by
the qualified applicant,

(3) Where an application in the prescribed form is made to the
Registrar General by the qualified applicant in respect of the
change of name or surname of a child under eighteen years of age,
the Registrar General may record that change of name or surname by
causing an appropriate entry to be made in the register

(a)if evidence to the satisfaction of the Registrar General is
produced that the name or surname which the qualified applicant
wishes to have recorded has been in use by or in respect of the
child to whom the application relates for a period of not less
than two years prior to the date of application; and

(b)if the Registrar General is not satisfied with the evidence so
produced, there is also produced to him a copy of a notice
inserted in a newspaper circulating in the area of the child's
usual residence specifying the qualified applicant's intention to
apply to the Registrar General for the recording of the name or
surname proposed and specifying also that such name or surname has
been in use by the child for a period of not less than two years
prior to the date of the insertion of the notice in the newspaper;

(4) Where an application in the prescribed form is made to the
Registrar General in respect of a change of name or surname of a
person over eighteen years of age, the Registrar General may record
that change of name or surname by causing an appropriate entry to
be made in the register

(a)if evidence to the satisfaction of the Registrar General is
produced that the name or surname which the applicant wishes to
have recorded has been in use by him for a period of not less
than two years prior to the date of the application; and

(b)if the Registrar General is not satisfied with the evidence so
produced, there is also produced to him a copy of a notice
inserted in a newspaper circulating in the area of the applicant's
usual residence specifying the applicant's intention to apply to the
Registrar General for the recording of the name or surname proposed
and specifying also that such name or surname has been in use by
him for a period of not less than two years prior to the date of
the insertion of the notice in the newspaper;

(5) On making an application under any of the provisions of this
Article the applicant shall pay such fees as may be prescribed.

(6) Nothing in this Article shall affect any rule of law as
respects change of name or surname.

(7) In paragraphs (2) and (3) "qualified applicant" means

(a)the father and mother of the child; or

(b)if either of the parents is deceased, the surviving parent; or

(c)in the case of an illegitimate child, the mother of the child;
or

(d)if both parents are deceased, the guardian of the child or other
person who has determined that the name, or, as the case may be,
the surname, of the child should be changed or given;

(8) In this Article "change" in relation to a name or surname
includes any change by way of substitution, addition, omission,
spelling or hyphenation.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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38.(1) Subject to paragraph (2), any person may, on payment of the
prescribed fee, examine the particular entry in any register in
which he is interested and the registrar shall, on payment of the
prescribed fee, issue a certified copy of that entry.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not entitle any person to examine an entry
in a register of still-births except where the registrar, with the
consent of the Registrar General in any particular case, allows.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
39

39. A certified copy issued under this Order may be made by means
of photography, xerography or any similar method of reproducing
documents.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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40. The Department may make regulations

(a)providing as respects any entry in a register of births or
adoptions, for the issue by the Registrar General or person having
the custody of the register of a certificate of such of the items
comprising that entry (other than items relating to parentage or
adoption) as may be prescribed;

(b)providing for the form of any such certificate;

(c)providing for the particulars to be furnished by an applicant for
such a certificate;

(d)providing for the manner in which any such certificate is to be
compiled; and

(e)requiring the payment, by the applicant for the certificate, of
the prescribed fee;

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
41

41.(1) An entry of a birth or death in a register shall not be
evidence of the birth or death unless the entry

(a)is signed by a person professing to be the informant and to be
such a person as might be required by law at the date of the
entry to give to the registrar information concerning the birth or
death;

(b)is made in pursuance of Article 10(7) or Article 21(8) or any
corresponding statutory provision repealed by the Births and Deaths
Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or the Births, Deaths and
Marriages Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 or this Order
relating to the registration of a birth by declaration;

(c)relates to a re-registration and is made in pursuance of Article
18, 19 or 31, or any statutory provision repealed by the Births
and Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this Order
corresponding to Article 19;

(d)relates to a death or still-birth and is made upon a certificate
issued by a coroner following an inquest;

(e)is made in pursuance of the statutory provisions relating to the
registration of births and deaths at sea; or

(f)relates to a birth or death which has occurred outside the
United Kingdom.

(2) Where more than three months but not more than twelve months
have expired between the date of a birth and the date on which
the birth is registered, the entry in a register under this Order
or any statutory provision repealed by the Births and Deaths
Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this Order shall not be
evidence of the birth unless the entry is made in pursuance of
Article 18 or 19 or contains a marginal note that a statutory
declaration has been made by a qualified informant, so however that
nothing in this paragraph shall apply where the date on which the
birth of the child is registered falls on or after 1st October
1973.

(3) Where more than twelve months have expired between the date of
a birth or death and the date on which the birth or death is
registered, the entry of the birth or death in a register under
this Order or any statutory provision repealed by the Births and
Deaths Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 or this Order shall
not be evidence of the birth or death unless the entry purports to
have been made with the authority of the Registrar General.

(4) A certified copy issued under Article 34 or 38 shall be deemed
to be a true copy of the entry in question notwithstanding that it
is made on a form different from that on which the original entry
was made if any differences in the column headings under which the
particulars appear in the original entry and the copy respectively
are differences of form only and not of substance.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976 - SECT
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42.(1) Where the age or death of a person is required to be
proved for the purposes of any statutory provision specified in
Schedule 1, any person shall, on presenting a written requisition in
such form and containing such particulars as may be specified by
the Department and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, be
entitled to a certified copy of the entry of the birth or death
of that person in the relevant register under the hand of the
person having the custody thereof or stamped with the seal of the
General Register Office.

(2) Forms for the requisitions referred to in paragraph (1) shall,
on request, be supplied without charge by any person having the
custody of a register.

(3) The General Register Office and any registrar having custody of
a register may, on payment of the prescribed fee, issue such
information (including copies of or extracts from registers) as may
be required for the purposes of any statutory provision specified in
Schedule 1.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order made subject to affirmative
resolution add to the statutory provisions specified in Schedule 1
any other statutory provision for the purposes of which paragraphs
(1) to (3) are to be applied.

(5) Where an order is made under paragraph (4), this Article and
Schedule 1 shall have effect accordingly.

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43.(1) Any registrar who refuses, or, without reasonable cause, fails
to register any birth or death or particulars in respect of which
a qualified informant has given information, which he ought to
register, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding #50.

(2) Any person who registers or causes to be registered any birth
in contravention of Article 13 or death in contravention of Article
24 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding #10.

(3) Any person who, having the custody of any register, negligently
loses or damages it or allows it to be damaged shall be guilty of
an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding #50.

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44.(1) Any person who

(a)being required by this Order to give information concerning any
birth or death, or any living infant child, or any dead body
wilfully refuses to answer any question put to him by the
registrar, relating to the particulars required under Articles 10 and
21;

(b)being required by this Order to sign a register in the presence
of the registrar, fails to do so;

(c)fails to comply with any notice issued by a registrar or the
Registrar General in pursuance of this Order; or

(d)refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to give, send or
deliver any certificate in accordance with this Order;

(2) Where the parent of any child fails to give the information
required by this Order concerning the birth of the child, he shall,
except as provided by this Order, be guilty of an offence and
shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding #10
for each offence.

(3) Where any person required by this Order to give information
concerning a death in the first instance, and not merely in default
of some other person, fails to give that information he shall,
except as provided by this Order, be guilty of an offence and
shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding #10
for each offence.

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45.(1) Any person who

(a)forges or falsifies any certificate, declaration or order under
this Order;

(b)knowing any such certificate, declaration or order to be false or
forged, uses it as true, or gives or sends it as true to any
person; or

(c)passes as genuine any reproduction of a certified copy under this
Order, knowing that the reproduction is not a certified copy;

(2) In this Article "forge" has the same meaning as in the Forgery
Act 1913.

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46. Notwithstanding anything in section 34 of the Magistrates' Courts
Act (Northern Ireland) 1964, summary proceedings for an offence under
[Article 9(2), 30(3), 43, 44 or 45 of] this Order may be commenced
at any time within three years from the commission of the offence.

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47.(1) There shall be payable for or in respect of

(a)examination of a particular entry in a register, and searches in
indexes of registers;

(b)certified copies and certificates relating to any entries in
registers;

(c)any functions performed by any officer under Article 37;

(d)furnishing information for the purposes of any statutory provision
specified in Schedule 1;

(2) The Secretary of State may by order made subject to affirmative
resolution prescribe the fees payable for the purposes of paragraph
(1).

(3) Where any fee is prescribed under this Article, then it shall
not be lawful for any person to demand or receive, in respect of
any transaction to which that fee relates, any sum in excess of
the prescribed fee other than a sum equal to the amount of any
expenditure properly incurred in the carrying out of that
transaction.

(4) Except as may be prescribed a registrar may refuse to comply
with any application made to him under this Order until the
prescribed fee is paid to him; and any such fee shall be a debt
recoverable summarily by the officer to whom it is payable.

Art.48, with Schedule 2, effects repeals

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49

49.(1) In the application of section 29 of the Interpretation Act
(Northern Ireland) 1954 to any repeal made by this Order,
subsections (1) and (3) thereof shall have effect with the omission
of the word "statutory" wherever it occurs.

(2) Any form used, and any requirement as to the particulars to be
entered in any form used, for the purposes of any statutory
provision repealed by this Order in force immediately before the
commencement of this Order shall continue in force as though
prescribed under this Order until other forms or particulars are so
prescribed.

(3) Where a period of time specified in any statutory provision
repealed by this Order is current at the commencement of this
Order, this Order shall have effect as if the corresponding
provision thereof had been in force when that period began to run.

Societies Act 1948.Act (Northern Ireland) 1950.

Ireland) 1966.

Order 1972.

Act 1975.

Order 1975.

Ireland) Order 1979.

Schedule 2Repeals