§ 19-11-180.Definitions

This section supplies the vocabulary for Part 7 of Georgia’s Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which deals with support cases under the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. Though the part carries the heading “Determination of Parentage,” § 19-11-181 says it applies only to support proceedings under the convention. Several definitions refer to a country described in § 19-11-101(5)(D) — a country in which the convention is in force with respect to the United States.

The seven terms fall into two groups. The first concerns who handles a case. A “central authority” is the entity the United States or a convention country designates to carry out the convention’s functions. A “foreign central authority” is the one a convention country designates. The “United States central authority” is the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An “application” is a request under the convention, by an obligee or obligor or on behalf of a child, made through one central authority for help from another. A “direct request,” by contrast, is a petition an individual files in a Georgia tribunal in a proceeding involving an obligee, obligor, or child living outside the United States — the route that doesn’t go through the central authorities.

The second group concerns what can be enforced. A “convention support order” is a support order of a tribunal of a convention country. A “foreign support agreement” is a support agreement in a record that meets three conditions: it is enforceable as a support order in the country of origin; it was formally drawn up or registered as an authentic instrument by a foreign tribunal, or authenticated by, concluded, registered, or filed with one; and a foreign tribunal may review and modify it. The term includes a maintenance arrangement or authentic instrument under the convention. The section was last amended in 2013.