Maintenance decisions by administrative authorities
It is important to note that both the Maintenance Regulation and the 2007 Hague Convention take account of the different ways in which maintenance decisions are made in different legal systems in that they are open to administrative and judicial systems of maintenance.
The Maintenance Regulation defines in Article 2(2) that “[f]or the purposes of [the] Regulation, the term "court" shall include administrative authorities of the Member States with competence in matters relating to maintenance obligations […]“ (see for further details Article 2(2)). These administrative authorities are listed in Annex X of the Regulation.
The 2007 Hague Convention states in Article 19(1) that the Chapter on enforcement and recognition applies to decisions „rendered by a judicial or administrative authority in respect of a maintenance obligation“ and a definition of the term „administrative authority“ is provided in Article 19(3).