Domestic Protection

Reformed Law

The Domestic Violence Act  2018 amends and consolidates  the law in relation to domestic violence.   The  Act  also  includes  new provisions which  were required  in  order  for Ireland  to  be  able  to  ratify  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing and  combating  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence,  more commonly known as the Istanbul Convention. Ireland signed the Istanbul Convention  in  November  2015.

The act allows  a person  to  apply  for  an  emergency  barring  order  where  that  person  has  lived in an intimate  and committed  relationship  with the respondent without being their spouse or civil partner or where that person is the parent of an adult  respondent,  and  the  inclusion  of a  provision  to  criminalise  forced marriage.

The  Act  removed  the  underage  marriage  exemption  in order to help to protect  minors against forced marriage,  requiring both intended spouses  to be at least 18

Safety Order

A safety orders can be sought by a spouse or former spouse,  by a civil partner or former civil partner, by a person who lived  with  the  respondent  in an  intimate  and committed relationship,  by a parent  of an adult  respondent, by a person who lives with the respondent in a primarily non-contractual  relationship, or by a person who has had a child with the respondent.

The actions that can be prohibited  through a safety order include  using or threatening  the use of violence against, molesting or putting in fear, watching or besetting a place where  the  applicant  or  a  dependant  resides  and  following  or  communicating (including  electronically)  with the applicant  or a dependant.

  • 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—
  • the length of time those persons are residing together,
  • the nature of any duties performed by either person for the other person or any kindred person of that other person,
  • 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, and
  • any other matters the court considers appropriate in the circumstance

Effect of Safety Order

Where the court, on application to it, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the safety or welfare of an applicant or a dependent person so requires, it shall, (a “safety order”) prohibit the respondent to the application from doing one or more of the following:

  • using or threatening to use violence against, molesting or putting in fear, the applicant or the dependent person;
  • if he or she is residing at a place other than the place where the applicant or that dependent person resides, watching or besetting a place where the applicant or the dependent person resides;
  • following or communicating (including by electronic means) with the applicant or the dependent person.
  • A safety order may be subject to such exceptions and conditions as the court may specify.

Safety orders can remain  in place  for 5  years  (or  for  a  shorter  period  if  the  court  so  specifies)  and  before  the expiration  of that period another safety order can be made  for a further period of up to 5 years.

Barring Order

Barring  orders can  be sought by a spouse or former spouse,  by a civil partner or former civil partner, by a person who lived  with the  respondent  in an intimate  and committed relationship,  or by a  parent  of an adult  respondent.

The  court  may  make a  barring  order  to  direct  a  respondent  to  either  leave  a  place  or to  prevent them from entering a place where the applicant  or a dependant resides.

The actions  that  can be prohibited  through a barring order include  using or threatening the use of violence against, molesting  or putting in fear, attending  at, or in the vicinity  of, or watching or besetting a place  where the  applicant  or a dependant  resides and following  or communicating (including  electronically)  with the applicant  or a dependant.

A barring order may be subject to such exceptions and conditions as the court may specify.

In respect of a person who is co habitant   but not a spouse, 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 and the applicant has no legal or beneficial interest, or the applicant’s legal or beneficial interest is, in the opinion of the court, less than that of the respondent.

Where in proceedings the applicant states the belief, in respect this matter, that he or she has a legal or beneficial interest in that place which is not less than that of the respondent, then that belief shall be admissible in evidence.

Barring orders can  remain  in  place  for 3  years  (or  for  a  shorter  period  if  the  court  so specifies)  and  before  the  expiration  of  that  period  another  barring  order  can be made for a further period of up to 3 years.

Interim  barring  order

An interim barring orders can be made where there are reasonable grounds  to believe that there is  an  immediate  risk  of  significant  harm  to  the  applicant  or  a  dependant and  the  making  of  a  protection  order  would  not  be  sufficient  to  protect them.  The  court  can  make  an  interim  barring  order  to  direct  a  respondent to  either  leave  a place  or to  prevent  them  from entering  a  place  where the  applicant  or a  dependant  resides.

The  actions  that  can  be  prohibited through an interim  barring order include  using or threatening  the use of violence against, molesting or putting in fear, attending at, or in the vicinity of,  or  watching  or  besetting  a  place  where  the  applicant  or  a  dependant resides  and  following  or communicating  (including  electronically)  with  the applicant  or a dependant.

An interim  barring order may be made in a one-sided application (ex parte), in  which  case  it  shall  have  effect  for  a  period  not  exceeding  8  working  days. The  applicant  for  an  ex  parte  interim  barring  order  must  swear  an  affidavit or  an  information  and  this  shall state  whether  the  property  from  which  it is sought to bar the respondent on an interim  basis is also the respondent’s place  of business.  The  interim  barring order shall cease to have effect once the application for a barring order has been determined.

Emergency  barring  order

An emergency  barring  order may be made where there  are  reasonable  grounds to believe that  there  is  an  immediate  risk  of  significant  harm  to  the  applicant  or  a dependant.  A  person  may  apply  for  an  emergency  barring  order  where that  person has lived  in an intimate  and committed  relationship with the respondent without being their spouse or civil partner or where that person is the parent  of an adult  respondent.

The applicant  may apply for an emergency  barring  order  even if  they  have  no  legal  or  beneficial  interest  in  the place  or  an  interest  which  is  less  than  the  legal  and  beneficial  interest  of the respondent.  The court can make an emergency barring order to direct  a respondent to either  leave  a place or to prevent them from entering  a place where the applicant or a dependant resides.

The actions that can be prohibited through  an  emergency  barring  order  include  using  or threatening  the  use  of violence against, molesting or putting in fear, attending at, or in the vicinity of,  or  watching  or  besetting  a  place  where  the  applicant  or  a  dependant resides  and  following  or communicating  (including  electronically)  with  the applicant  or a  dependant.

An emergency  barring  order may  be made  ex parte  and shall  have  effect  for a period  not exceeding  8 working days. Once the period granted  in the emergency barring order has expired,  no further emergency  barring  order may  be made  until  a period  of one month  has elapsed  from  the date  of expiry  of the  previous  emergency  barring  order, unless  the  court  is  satisfied  that  there  are  exceptional  circumstances.

The applicant  for  an  ex  parte  emergency  barring  order  must  swear  an  affidavit or an information  and this shall state whether the property from which it is sought to bar the respondent on an emergency  basis is also the  respondent’s place of business.

Protection order

A protection  order may be made where  there  are  reasonable  grounds for  believing  that  the  safety  or  welfare of the applicant  or a dependant is at risk.  The actions that can be prohibited through a protection  order include  using or threatening  the use of violence against, molesting or putting in fear, watching or besetting a place where the  applicant  or a dependant  resides and following  or communicating (including  electronically)  with the applicant  or a dependant.

The applicant for  an  unilateral (ex  parte)  protection  order  must  swear  an  affidavit  or  an  information and this material  is to be served on the respondent with a copy of the order. )

Criteria

In deciding an application for a safety order, barring order, interim barring order, emergency barring order protection order or in any application to vary or discharge such an order the court will have regard to the following

  • any history of violence inflicted by the respondent on the applicant or a dependent person;
  • any conviction of the respondent for an offence under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 that involves loss to, or is to the prejudice of, the applicant or a dependent person;
  • any conviction of the respondent for an offence that involves violence or the threat of violence to any person;
  • whether any violence inflicted by the respondent on the applicant or a dependent person is increasing, or has increased, in severity or frequency over time;
  • any exposure of any dependent person to violence inflicted by the respondent on the applicant or any other dependent person;
  • any previous order under this Act or the Act of 1996 made against the respondent with regard to any person;
  • any history of animal cruelty by the respondent;
  • any destruction or damage caused by the respondent to—the personal property of the applicant, the respondent or a dependent person, or) any place where the applicant or a dependent person resides;
  • any action of the respondent, not being a criminal offence, which puts the applicant or a dependent person in fear for his or her own safety or welfare;
  • any recent separation between the applicant and the respondent;
  • substance abuse, including abuse of alcohol, by the respondent, the applicant or a dependent person;
  • access to weapons by the respondent, the applicant or a dependent person;
  • the applicant’s perception of the risk to his or her own safety or welfare due to the behaviour of the respondent;
  • the age and state of health (including pregnancy) of the applicant or any dependent person;
  • any evidence of deterioration in the physical, psychological or emotional welfare of the applicant or a dependent person which is caused directly by fear of the behaviour of the respondent;
  • whether the applicant is economically dependent on the respondent;
  • any other matter which appears to the court to be relevant to the safety or welfare of the applicant and any dependent person.

 

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