Hong Kong Ordinances

MATRIMONIAL PROCEEDINGS AND PROPERTY ORDINANCE - SECT 23

Orders for repayment in certain cases of sums paid after cessation of order by reason of remarriage

(1) Where-

   (a)  an order to which this section applies has ceased to have effect by
        reason of the remarriage of the person entitled to payments under the
        order, and

   (b)  the person liable to make payments under the order or his or her
        personal representatives made payments in accordance with it in
        respect of a period after the date of such remarriage in the mistaken
        belief that the order was still subsisting, no proceedings in respect
        of a cause of action arising out of the circumstances mentioned in
        paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be maintainable by the person so liable
        or his or her personal representatives against the person so entitled
        or her or his personal representatives; but on an application made
        under this section the court may exercise the powers conferred on it
        by subsection (2). (Amended L.N. 145 of 1992)

(2) The court may order the respondent to an application made under this
section to pay to the applicant a sum equal to the amount of the payments made
in respect of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or, if it appears to
the court that it would be unjust to make that order, it may either order the
respondent to pay to the applicant such lesser sum as it thinks fit or dismiss
the application.

(3) Subsections (2) and (4) of section 13 shall apply to an application made
under this section and to an order made on such application as they apply to
an application made under that section and to an order made on the last
mentioned application. (Amended 79 of 1981 s. 7)

(4) No officer of a court to which any payments under an order to which this
section applies are required to be made shall be liable for any act done by
him in pursuance of the order after the date on which that order ceased to
have effect by reason of the remarriage of the person entitled to payments
under it, if, but only if, the act was one which he would have been under a
duty to do had the order not ceased to have effect as aforesaid and the act
was done before notice in writing of the fact that the person so entitled had
remarried was given to him by or on behalf of that person, the person liable
to make payments under the order or the personal representatives of either of
those persons.

(5) This section applies to an order made by virtue of section  4 (1)(a) or
(b) or 8(6)(a) or (b) and to any such order as is referred to in subsection
(1) or (2) of section 22. [cf. 1970 c.45 s.22 U.K.]