The Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 2001
These Regulations amend the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations 1971 to give effect to amendments made to Part III of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 by the Family Law Reform Act 1987 (c. 42) and the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c. 19). Part III permits blood tests to be used to determine paternity in civil proceedings. The amendments make it possible for samples to be taken of bodily tissue and bodily fluid other than blood and for scientific tests to be used to establish whether a person is the mother of the person whose parentage falls to be determined, as well as whether a person is the father. They provide that tests are to be carried out by an accredited body rather than a named individual, and lay down the conditions which a body must meet if it is to be accredited. They also reflect the courts' new jurisdiction to order that a sample be taken from a person under 16, where it would be in his best interests for the sample to be taken, even though the person with care and control of the person does not consent.