Domestic Violence Act 1996

1. Interpretation.

1.—(1)In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

F1[‘Act of 2010’means the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;]

“applicant”, where appropriate, has the meaning assigned by either section 2 or 3 or by both of those sections and where an interim barring order has been made the applicant for the barring order to which the interim barring order relates shall be deemed to be the applicant for the interim barring order and where a protection order has been made the applicant for the safety order or the barring order to which the protection order relates shall be deemed to be the applicant for that protection order;

“barring order” has the meaning assigned by section 3;

F1[‘civil partner’has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2010 and includes a person who was a civil partner in a partnership that has been dissolved under that Act;]

“civil proceedings under this Act” means—

(a)proceedings for the making, variation or discharge of a safety order or a barring order,

(b)proceedings, consequent on the making of an application for a barring order, for the making, variation or discharge of an interim barring order which relates to the application,

(c)proceedings, consequent on the making of an application for a safety order or barring order, for the making, variation or discharge of a protection order which relates to the application,

(d)any proceedings by way of appeal or case stated which are related to proceedings to which paragraph (a), (b) or (c) applies;

“the court” means the Circuit Court or the District Court;

“dependent person”, in relation to the applicant or the respondent or both of them, as the case may be, means any child—

(a)of the applicant and the respondent or adopted by both the applicant and the respondent under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991, or under an adoption deemed to have been effected by a valid adoption order by virtue of section 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the Adoption Act, 1991, or in relation to whom both the applicant and the respondent are in loco parentis, or

(b)of the applicant or adopted by the applicant under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991, or under an adoption deemed to have been effected by a valid adoption order by virtue of section 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the Adoption Act, 1991, or in relation to whom the applicant is in loco parentis, or

(c)of the respondent or adopted by the respondent under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991, or under an adoption deemed to have been effected by a valid adoption order by virtue of section 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the Adoption Act, 1991, or in relation to whom the respondent is in loco parentis, and the applicant, while not in the same relationship to that child for the purposes of this paragraph as the respondent is in, is in respect of that child a person to whom paragraph (b) of this definition relates,

who is not of full age or if the child has attained full age has a physical or mental disability to such extent that it is not reasonably possible for the child to live independently of the applicant;

“full age” has the same meaning as it has in the Age of Majority Act, 1985;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

F2[…]

“interim barring order” has the meaning assigned by section 4;

“protection order” has the meaning assigned by section 5;

“respondent”, where appropriate, has the meaning assigned by either section 2 or 3 or by both of those sections and where an interim barring order has been made the respondent to the application for the barring order to which the interim barring order relates shall be deemed to be the respondent to the interim barring order and where a protection order has been made the respondent to the application for the safety order or the barring order to which the protection order relates shall be deemed to be the respondent to that protection order;

“safety order” has the meaning assigned by section 2;

“welfare” includes the physical and psychological welfare of the person in question.

(2)(a)A reference in this Act to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that a reference to some other Act is intended.

(b)A reference in this Act to a subsection or to a paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(3)Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except where the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment including this Act.

2. Safety order.

2.—(1)(a)In this section—

“the applicant” means a person, other than F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]], who has applied or on whose behalf F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]] has applied by virtue of section 6 for a safety order against another person (in this section referred to as “the respondent”) and the person so applying or on whose behalf F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]] has so applied—

(i)is the spouse of the respondent, or

F5[(ia) is the civil partner of the respondent, or a person who was a party to a civil partnership with the respondent that has been dissolved under the Act of 2010, or]

F6[(ii) is not the spouse or civil partner within the meaning of the Act of 2010 of the respondent and is not related to the respondent within the prohibited degrees of relationship, but lived with the respondent in an intimate and committed relationship prior to the application for the safety order, or]

(iii)is a parent of the respondent and the respondent is a person of full age who is not, in relation to the parent, a dependent person, or

(iv)being of full age resides with the respondent in a relationship the basis of which is not F6[primarily contractual, or]

F7[(v) is a parent of a child whose other parent is the respondent;]

“kindred”, in respect of two or more persons, means the relationship of each of those persons to the other person or to the rest of those persons by blood, adoption or marriage.

(b)In deciding whether or not a person is residing with another person in a relationship the basis of which is not primarily contractual, the court shall have regard to—

(i)the length of time those persons have been residing together,

(ii)the nature of any duties performed by either person for the other person or for any kindred person of that other person,

(iii)the absence of any profit or of any significant profit made by either person from any monetary or other consideration given by the other person in respect of residing at the place concerned,

(iv)such other matters as the court considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(2)Where the court, on application to it, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the safety or welfare of the applicant or any dependent person so requires, it may, subject to section 7, by order (in this Act referred to as a “safety order”) direct that the respondent to the application—

(a)shall not use or threaten to use violence against, molest or put in fear the applicant or that dependent person, and

(b)if he or she is residing at a place other than the place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, shall not watch or beset the place where the applicant or that dependent person resides,

and the court may make such order subject to such exceptions and conditions as it may specify.

(3)Where a safety order has been made, any of the following may apply to have it varied, that is to say:

(a)if the application for the order was made by F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]] in respect of any dependent person by virtue of section 6—

(i)F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]],

(ii)the person referred to in subsection (1) (c) of that section, or

(iii)the respondent to that application;

(b)if the application for the order was made by F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]] in any other case by virtue of section 6—

(i)F3[theF4[Child and Family Agency]],

(ii)the person who was the applicant for the order, or

(iii)the respondent to that application;

(c)in any other case—

(i)the person who was the applicant for the order, or

(ii)the person who was the respondent to the application for the order, and the court upon hearing any such application shall make such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(4)For the purposes of subsection (3), a safety order made by a court on appeal from another court shall be treated as if it had been made by that other court.

(5)A safety order, if made by the District Court or by the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, shall, subject to subsection (6) (a) and section 13, expire five years after the date of its making or on the expiration of such shorter period as the court may provide for in the order.

(6)(a)On or before the expiration of a safety order to which subsection (5) relates, a further safety order may be made by the District Court or by the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court for a period of five years, or such shorter period as the court may provide for in the order, with effect from the expiration of the first-mentioned order.

(b)On or before the expiration of a safety order to which paragraph (a) does not relate, a further safety order may be made with effect from the expiration of the first-mentioned safety order.

(7)Notwithstanding subsection (5), so much of a safety order as was made for the benefit of a dependent person shall expire in accordance with such order or upon such person ceasing to be a dependent person, whichever first occurs.

(8)The court shall not make a safety order on an application for a barring order unless there is also an application for a safety order before the court concerning the same matter.

3. Barring order.

3.—(1)In this section “the applicant” means a person, other than F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]], who has applied or on whose behalf F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]] has applied by virtue of section 6 for a barring order against another person (in this section referred to as “the respondent”) and the person so applying or on whose behalf F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]] has so applied—

(a)is the spouse of the respondent, or

F10[(aa) is the civil partner of the respondent, or a person who was a party to a civil partnership with the respondent that has been dissolved under the Act of 2010, or]

F11[(b) is not the spouse or civil partner within the meaning of the Act of 2010 of the respondent and is not related to the respondent within the prohibited degrees of relationship, but lived with the respondent in an intimate and committed relationship for a period of at least six months in aggregate during the period of nine months immediately prior to the application for the barring order, or]

(c)is a parent of the respondent and the respondent is a person of full age who is not, in relation to the parent, a dependent person.

(2)(a)Where the court, on application to it, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the safety or welfare of the applicant or any dependent person so requires, it may, subject to section 7 and having taken into account any order made or to be made to which paragraph (a) or (d) of subsection (2) of section 9 relates, by order (in this Act referred to as a “barring order”)—

(i)direct the respondent, if residing at a place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, to leave such place, and

(ii)whether the respondent is or is not residing at a place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, prohibit that respondent from entering such place until further order of the court or until such other time as the court shall specify.

(b)In deciding whether or not to grant a barring order the court shall have regard to the safety and welfare of any dependent person in respect of whom the respondent is a parent or in loco parentis, where such dependent person is residing at the place to which the order, if made, would relate.

(3)A barring order may, if the court thinks fit, prohibit the respondent from doing one or more of the following, that is to say:

(a)using or threatening to use violence against the applicant or any dependent person;

(b)molesting or putting in fear the applicant or any dependent person;

(c)attending at or in the vicinity of, or watching or besetting a place where, the applicant or any dependent person resides;

and shall be subject to such exceptions and conditions as the court may specify.

(4)(a)In respect of a person who is an applicant by virtue of paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1), the court shall not make a barring order in respect of the place where the applicant or dependent person resides where the respondent has a legal or beneficial interest in that place but—

(i)the applicant has no such interest, or

(ii)the applicant’s interest is, in the opinion of the court, less than that of the respondent.

(b)Where in proceedings to which this section applies the applicant states the belief, in respect of the place to which paragraph (a) relates, that he or she has a legal or beneficial interest in that place which is not less than that of the respondent, then such belief shall be admissible in evidence.

(5)Without prejudice to section 22, nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the rights of any person, other than the applicant or the respondent, who has a legal or beneficial interest in a place in respect of which the court has made an order under this section.

(6)Where a barring order has been made, any of the following may apply to have it varied, that is to say:

(a)if the application for the order was made by F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]] in respect of any dependent person by virtue of section 6—

(i)F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]],

(ii)the person referred to in subsection (1) (c) of that section, or

(iii)the respondent to that application;

(b)if the application for the order was made by F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]] in any other case by virtue of section 6—

(i)F8[theF9[Child and Family Agency]],

(ii)the person who was the applicant for the order, or

(iii)the respondent to that application;

(c)in any other case—

(i)the person who was the applicant for the order, or

(ii)the person who was the respondent to the application for the order,

and the court upon hearing any such application shall make such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(7)For the purposes of subsection (6), a barring order made by a court on appeal from another court shall be treated as if it had been made by that other court.

(8)A barring order, if made by the District Court or by the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, shall, subject to subsection (9) (a) and section 13, expire three years after the date of its making or on the expiration of such shorter period as the court may provide for in the order.

(9)(a)On or before the expiration of a barring order to which subsection (8) relates, a further barring order may be made by the District Court or by the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court for a period of three years, or such shorter period as the court may provide for in the order, with effect from the expiration of the first-mentioned order.

(b)On or before the expiration of a barring order to which paragraph (a) does not relate, a further barring order may be made with effect from the expiration of the first-mentioned barring order.

(10)Notwithstanding subsection (8), so much of a barring order as was made for the benefit of a dependent person shall expire in accordance with such order or upon such person ceasing to be a dependent person, whichever first occurs.

(11)The court shall not make a barring order on an application for a safety order unless there is also an application for a barring order before the court concerning the same matter.

(12)For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), an applicant or a dependent person who would, but for the conduct of the respondent, be residing at a place shall be treated as residing at such place.

F12[(13)Where, by reason only of either or both of the following, that is to say, a barring order and an interim barring order, an applicant who is not the spouse of the respondent has not lived with the respondent as husband or wife for a period of at least six months in aggregate during the period of nine months immediately prior to the application for a further barring order under subsection (9), the applicant shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have lived with the respondent as husband or wife for a period of at least six months in aggregate during the period of nine months immediately prior to the application.]

4. Interim barring order.

4.—(1)If, on the making of an application for a barring order or between the making of such application and its determination, the court is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a)there is an immediate risk of significant harm to the applicant or any dependent person if the order is not made immediately, and

(b)the granting of a protection order would not be sufficient to protect the applicant or any dependent person,

the court may, subject to section 7 and having taken into account any order made or to be made to which paragraph (a)or (d)of subsection (2)of section 9relates, by order (in this Act referred to as an “interim barring order”)—

(i)direct the respondent, if residing at a place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, to leave such place, and

(ii)whether the respondent is or is not residing at a place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, prohibit that respondent from entering such place until further order of the court or until such other time as the court shall specify.

(2)Subsections (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (12) of section 3 shall apply to an interim barring order as they apply to a barring order.

F13[(3) (a) An interim barring order may be madeex partewhere, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, the court considers it necessary or expedient to do so in the interests of justice.

(b) The application for such an order shall be grounded on an affidavit or information sworn by the applicant.

(c) If an interim barring order is madeex parte—

(i) a note of evidence given by the applicant shall be prepared forthwith—

(I) by the judge,

(II) by the applicant or the applicant’s solicitor and approved by the judge, or

(III) as otherwise directed by the judge,

and

(ii) a copy of the order, affidavit or information and note shall be served on the respondent as soon as practicable.