Domestic Abuse Bill (HL Bill 124)
Part 3 continued
Domestic Abuse BillPage 20
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the making of an order under
section 26 on an application made in accordance with subsection (3) of that
section (see instead section 27(4) to (6)).
(3)In deciding whether to exercise its powers under subsection (1), the court must
5have regard to all the circumstances, including—
(a)any risk that, if the order is not made immediately, P will cause
significant harm to the person for whose protection the order would be
made,
(b)in a case where an application for the order has been made, whether it
10is likely that the person making the application will be deterred or
prevented from pursuing the application if an order is not made
immediately, and
(c)whether there is reason to believe that—
(i)P is aware of the proceedings but is deliberately evading
15service, and
(ii)the delay involved in effecting substituted service will cause
serious prejudice to the person for whose protection the order
would be made.
(4)If a court makes an order against a person by virtue of subsection (1), it must
20give the person an opportunity to make representations about the order—
(a)as soon as just and convenient, and
(b)at a hearing of which notice has been given to all the parties in
accordance with rules of court.
33 Provision that may be made by orders
(1)25A court may by a domestic abuse protection order impose any requirements
that the court considers necessary to protect the person for whose protection
the order is made from domestic abuse or the risk of domestic abuse.
“Requirement” includes any prohibition or restriction.
(2)The court must, in particular, consider what requirements (if any) may be
30necessary to protect the person for whose protection the order is made from
different kinds of abusive behaviour.
(3)Subsections (4) to (6) contain examples of the type of provision that may be
made under subsection (1), but they do not limit the type of provision that may
be so made.
(4)35A domestic abuse protection order may provide that the person against whom
the order is made (“P”)—
(a)may not contact the person for whose protection it is made;
(b)may not come within a specified distance of any premises in England
or Wales in which that person lives.
40“Specified” means specified in the order.
(5)If P lives in premises in England or Wales in which the person for whose
protection the order is made also lives, the order may contain provision—
(a)prohibiting P from evicting or excluding that person from the premises;
(b)prohibiting P from entering the premises;
(c)45requiring P to leave the premises.
Domestic Abuse BillPage 21
(6)A domestic abuse protection order may require P to submit to electronic
monitoring in England and Wales of P’s compliance with other requirements
imposed by the order.
In this Part a requirement imposed by virtue of this subsection is referred to as
5an “electronic monitoring requirement”.
(7)Sections 34 and 35 contain further provision about the requirements that may
be imposed by a domestic abuse protection order.
34 Further provision about requirements that may be imposed by orders
(1)Requirements imposed on a person by a domestic abuse protection order must,
10so far as practicable, be such as to avoid—
(a)conflict with the person’s religious beliefs;
(b)interference with any times at which the person normally works or
attends an educational establishment;
(c)conflict with the requirements of any other court order or injunction to
15which the person may be subject.
(2)A domestic abuse protection order that imposes a requirement to do
something on a person (“P”) must specify the person who is to be responsible
for supervising compliance with that requirement.
(3)Before including such a requirement in a domestic abuse protection order, the
20court must receive evidence about its suitability and enforceability from the
person to be specified under subsection (2).
(4)Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to electronic monitoring
requirements (see instead section 35(3) to (6)).
(5)It is the duty of a person specified under subsection (2)—
(a)25to make any necessary arrangements in connection with the
requirements for which the person has responsibility (the “relevant
requirements”);
(b)to promote P’s compliance with the relevant requirements;
(c)if the person considers that—
(i)30P has complied with all the relevant requirements, or
(ii)P has failed to comply with a relevant requirement,
to inform the appropriate chief officer of police.
(6)In subsection (5)(c) the “appropriate chief officer of police” means—
(a)the chief officer of police of the force maintained for the police area in
35which it appears to the person specified under subsection (2) that P
resides,
(b)if it appears to that person that P resides in more than one police area,
whichever one of the relevant chief officers of police the person thinks
it most appropriate to inform, or
(c)40if it appears to the person specified under subsection (2) that P does not
reside in any police area, the chief officer of police of the force
maintained for the police area in which the court that made the order is
situated.
(7)A person (“P”) who is subject to a requirement imposed by a domestic abuse
45protection order—
Domestic Abuse BillPage 22
(a)must keep in touch with the person specified under subsection (2) in
relation to that requirement, in accordance with any instructions given
by that person from time to time;
(b)if P changes home address, must notify the person specified under
5subsection (2) of the new home address;
(c)if P ceases to have any home address, must notify the person specified
under subsection (2) of that fact.
These obligations have effect as requirements of the order.
35 Further provision about electronic monitoring requirements
(1)10Subsections (2) to (4) apply for the purpose of determining whether a court
may impose an electronic monitoring requirement on a person (“P”) in a
domestic abuse protection order.
(2)The requirement may not be imposed in P’s absence.
(3)If there is a person (other than P) without whose co-operation it would be
15impracticable to secure the monitoring in question, the requirement may not be
imposed without that person’s consent.
(4)The court may impose the requirement only if—
(a)it has been notified by the Secretary of State that electronic monitoring
arrangements are available in the relevant area, and
(b)20it is satisfied that the necessary provision can be made under the
arrangements currently available.
(5)In subsection (4)(a) “the relevant area” means—
(a)the local justice area in which it appears to the court that P resides or
will reside, and
(b)25in a case where it is proposed to include in the order—
(i)a requirement that P must remain, for specified periods, at a
specified place, or
(ii)a provision prohibiting P from entering a specified place or
area,
30the local justice area in which the place or area proposed to be specified
is situated.
“Specified” means specified in the order.
(6)A domestic abuse protection order that includes an electronic monitoring
requirement must specify the person who is to be responsible for the
35monitoring.
(7)The person specified under subsection (6) (“the responsible person”) must be
of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(8)Where a domestic abuse protection order imposes an electronic monitoring
requirement on a person, the person must (among other things)—
(a)40submit, as required from time to time by the responsible person, to—
(i)being fitted with, or the installation of, any necessary apparatus,
and
(ii)the inspection or repair of any apparatus fitted or installed for
the purposes of the monitoring,
(b)45not interfere with, or with the working of, any apparatus fitted or
installed for the purposes of the monitoring, and
Domestic Abuse BillPage 23
(c)take any steps required by the responsible person for the purpose of
keeping in working order any apparatus fitted or installed for the
purposes of the monitoring.
These obligations have effect as requirements of the order.
36 5Duration and geographical application of orders
(1)A domestic abuse protection order takes effect on the day on which it is made.
This is subject to subsection (2).
(2)If, on the day on which a domestic abuse protection order (“the new order”) is
made against a person, the person is subject to another domestic abuse
10protection order (“the previous order”), the new order may be made so as to
take effect on the previous order ceasing to have effect.
(3)A domestic abuse protection order has effect—
(a)for a specified period,
(b)until the occurrence of a specified event, or
(c)15until further order.
“Specified” means specified in the order.
(4)A domestic abuse protection order may also specify periods for which
particular requirements imposed by the order have effect.
(5)But a domestic abuse protection order may not provide for an electronic
20monitoring requirement to have effect for more than 12 months.
(6)Subsection (5) is subject to any variation of the order under section 42.
(7)A requirement imposed by a domestic abuse protection order has effect in all
parts of the United Kingdom unless expressly limited to a particular locality.
37 Breach of order
(1)25A person who is subject to a domestic abuse protection order commits an
offence if without reasonable excuse the person fails to comply with any
requirement imposed by the order.
(2)In a case where the order was made against the person without that person
being given notice of the proceedings, the person commits an offence under
30this section only in respect of behaviour engaged in at a time when the person
was aware of the existence of the order.
(See also section 43(8) and (9), which makes similar provision where an order
has been varied.)
(3)Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any
35behaviour, that behaviour is not punishable as a contempt of court.
(4)A person may not be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of
any behaviour which has been punished as a contempt of court.
(5)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a)on summary conviction—
(i)40to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months (or 6
months, if the offence was committed before the coming into
force of paragraph 24(2) of Schedule 22 to the Sentencing Act
2020), or
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(ii)to a fine,
or both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
5 years or to a fine, or both.
(6)5If a person is convicted of an offence under this section, it is not open to the
court by or before which the person is convicted to make, in respect of the
offence, an order under section 80 of the Sentencing Code (conditional
discharge).
(7)If a person is convicted of an offence under section 42 of the Armed Forces Act
102006 as respects which the corresponding offence under the law of England
and Wales (within the meaning given by that section) is an offence under this
section, it is not open to the service court that convicted the person to make, in
respect of the offence, an order under section 185 of that Act (conditional
discharge).
15In this subsection “service court” means the Court Martial or the Service
Civilian Court.
(8)In proceedings for an offence under this section, a copy of the original domestic
abuse protection order, certified by the proper officer of the court that made it,
is admissible as evidence of its having been made and of its contents to the
20same extent that oral evidence of those matters is admissible in those
proceedings.
38 Arrest for breach of order
(1)This section applies where a relevant court has made a domestic abuse
protection order against a person (“P”).
(2)25In this section “relevant court” means—
(a)the High Court,
(b)the family court, or
(c)the county court.
(3)A person mentioned in subsection (4) may apply to the relevant judge for the
30issue of a warrant for P’s arrest if the person considers that P has failed to
comply with the order or is otherwise in contempt of court in relation to the
order.
(4)The persons referred to in subsection (3) are—
(a)the person for whose protection the order was made;
(b)35where the order was made under section 26, the person who applied for
the order (if different);
(c)any other person with the leave of the relevant judge.
(5)The relevant judge may issue a warrant on an application under subsection (3)
only if—
(a)40the application is substantiated on oath, and
(b)the relevant judge has reasonable grounds for believing that P has
failed to comply with the order or is otherwise in contempt of court in
relation to the order.
(6)If—
(a)45P is brought before a relevant court as a result of a warrant issued under
this section, and
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(b)the court does not immediately dispose of the matter,
the court may remand P.
(7)Schedule 1 contains further provision about remand under this section.
(8)In this section “the relevant judge” means—
(a)5where the order was made by the High Court, a judge of that court;
(b)where the order was made by the family court, a judge of that court;
(c)where the order was made by the county court, a judge of that court.
(9)For the power of a constable to arrest P without warrant for breach of a
domestic abuse protection order, see section 24 of the Police and Criminal
10Evidence Act 1984.
39 Notification requirements
(1)Subsections (2) to (6) apply where a person is subject to a domestic abuse
protection order.
(2)The person must, within the period of three days beginning with the day on
15which the order is made, notify the police of the information in subsection (3).
(3)The information referred to in subsection (2) is—
(a)the person’s name and, if the person uses one or more other names,
each of those names;
(b)the person’s home address.
(4)20If the person uses a name which has not been notified under this section, the
person must, within the period of three days beginning with the day on which
the person first uses that name, notify the police of that name.
(5)If the person changes home address, the person must, before the end of the
period of three days beginning with the day on which that happens, notify the
25police of the new home address.
(6)If the person ceases to have any home address, the person must, before the end
of the period of three days beginning with the day on which that happens,
notify the police of that fact.
(7)The Secretary of State may by regulations specify further notification
30requirements which a court may impose when making or varying a domestic
abuse protection order.
In this subsection a “notification requirement” is a requirement for the person
against whom the order is made to provide specified information to the police.
(8)The requirements imposed by subsections (2) to (6) do not apply where—
(a)35the person is subject to another domestic abuse protection order (and
accordingly those requirements already apply), or
(b)the person is subject to notification requirements under Part 2 of the
Sexual Offences Act 2003 or section 9 of the Stalking Protection Act
2019.
(9)40If on any day the person ceases to be subject to any notification requirements
as mentioned in subsection (8)(a) or (b), the requirements imposed by
subsections (2) to (6) apply to the person on and after that day, but as if the
reference in subsection (2) to the day on which the order was made were a
reference to that day.
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(10)For provision about how to give a notification under subsection (2), (4), (5) or
(6), see section 40.
40 Further provision about notification under section 39
(1)A person gives a notification under section 39(2), (4), (5) or (6) by—
(a)5attending at a police station in the appropriate police area, and
(b)giving an oral notification to—
(i)a police officer, or
(ii)any person authorised for the purpose by the officer in charge
of the station.
(2)10In subsection (1) “the appropriate police area”, in relation to a person, means—
(a)if the person’s home address is in England and Wales, the police area
in which that home address is situated;
(b)if the person does not have a home address in England and Wales, the
police area in which the court that last made a domestic abuse
15protection order against the person is situated.
(3)In a case of a person giving a notification under section 39(5), any reference in
subsection (2) to the person’s home address is a reference to the person’s home
address at the time of giving the notification.
(4)A notification given in accordance with this section must be acknowledged—
(a)20in writing, and
(b)in the form directed by the Secretary of State.
(5)When a person (“P”) gives a notification under section 39, P must, if requested
to do so by the person to whom notification is given, allow that person to do
any of the following things—
(a)25take P’s fingerprints;
(b)photograph, or otherwise produce an image of, P or any part of P.
(6)The power in subsection (5) is exercisable for the purpose of verifying P’s
identity.
41 Offences relating to notification
(1)30A person (“P”) commits an offence if P—
(a)fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement
imposed by or under section 39, or
(b)notifies the police, in purported compliance with such a requirement,
of any information which P knows to be false.
(2)35A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 40(5)
commits an offence.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable—
(a)on summary conviction—
(i)to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months (or 6
40months, if the offence was committed before the coming into
force of paragraph 24(2) of Schedule 22 to the Sentencing Act
2020), or
(ii)to a fine,
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or both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
5 years or to a fine, or both.
(4)A person commits an offence under subsection (1)(a) on the day on which the
5person first fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement
imposed by or under section 39.
(5)The person continues to commit the offence throughout any period during
which the failure continues.
(6)But the person may not be prosecuted more than once in respect of the same
10failure.
42 Variation and discharge of orders
(1)A court may vary or discharge a domestic abuse protection order made by that
or any other court.
This is subject to section 43.
(2)15A court may vary or discharge a domestic abuse protection order under this
section—
(a)on the application of a person mentioned in subsection (3), or
(b)in any case in which it could make a domestic abuse protection order
under section 29.
(3)20The persons referred to in subsection (2)(a) are—
(a)the person for whose protection the order was made;
(b)the person against whom the order was made (“P”);
(c)where the order was made under section 26, the person who applied for
the order;
(d)25the chief officer of police of the force maintained for any police area in
which P resides;
(e)the chief officer of police of any other force maintained for a police area
who believes that P is in that police area or is intending to come to it.
(4)Before deciding whether to vary or discharge an order under this section, the
30court must hear from—
(a)any relevant chief officer of police who wishes to be heard, and
(b)in a case where the person for whose protection the order was made is
seeking to discharge the order, or to remove or make less onerous any
requirement imposed by the order, the person for whose protection it
35was made.
(5)For the purposes of subsection (4)(a) each of the following is a “relevant chief
officer of police”—
(a)where the order was made on an application by a chief officer of police,
that chief officer;
(b)40the chief officer of police of the force maintained for any police area in
which P resides;
(c)the chief officer of police of any other force maintained for a police area
who believes that P is in that police area or is intending to come to it.
(6)Section 31 (matters to be considered before making an order) applies in relation
45to the variation or discharge of a domestic abuse protection order as it applies
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in relation to the making of such an order, but as if references to the person for
whose protection the order would be made were references to the person for
whose protection the order was made.
(7)Section 32 (making of orders without notice) applies in relation to the variation
5of a domestic abuse protection order as it applies in relation to the making of
such an order, but as if—
(a)references to the person for whose protection the order would be made
were references to the person for whose protection the order was made,
(b)subsection (2) were omitted, and
(c)10the reference in subsection (4) to making representations about the
order were a reference to making representations about the variation.
(8)The court may make any order varying or discharging a domestic abuse
protection order that it considers appropriate.
This is subject to subsections (9) to (13).
(9)15The court may include an additional requirement in the order, or extend the
period for which the order, or a requirement imposed by the order, has effect,
only if it is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to protect the person
for whose protection the order was made from domestic abuse, or the risk of
domestic abuse, carried out by P.
(10)20The court may not extend the period for which an electronic monitoring
requirement has effect by more than 12 months at a time.
(11)The court may remove any requirement imposed by the order, or make such a
requirement less onerous, only if satisfied that the requirement as imposed is
no longer necessary to protect the person for whose protection the order was
25made from domestic abuse, or the risk of domestic abuse, carried out by P.
(12)If it appears to the court that any conditions necessary for a requirement to be
imposed are no longer met, the court—
(a)may not extend the requirement, and
(b)must remove the requirement.
(13)30The court may discharge the order only if satisfied that the order is no longer
necessary to protect the person for whose protection it was made from
domestic abuse, or the risk of domestic abuse, carried out by P.
43 Variation and discharge: supplementary
(1)Any application to vary or discharge a domestic abuse protection order under
35section 42 must be made to the court that made the order.
This is subject to subsections (2) and (3).
(2)Where the order was made by a magistrates’ court, an application to vary or
discharge the order may be made to any other magistrates’ court acting in the
local justice area in which that court acts.
(3)40Where—
(a)the order was made under section 29 on an appeal in relation to a
person’s conviction or sentence for an offence, or
(b)the order was made by a court under that section against a person
committed or remitted to that court for sentencing for an offence,
Domestic Abuse BillPage 29
any application to vary or discharge the order must be made to the court by or
before which the person was convicted (but see subsection (4)).
(4)Where the person mentioned in subsection (3)(b) was convicted by a youth
court, the reference in subsection (3) to the court by or before which the person
5was convicted is to be read as a reference to a magistrates’ court acting in the
local justice area in which the youth court acts.
(5)Except as provided for by subsection (3), a domestic abuse protection order
made by the Crown Court may be varied or discharged under section 42 only
by the Crown Court.
(6)10A domestic abuse protection order made by the High Court may be varied or
discharged under section 42 only by the High Court.
(7)An order that has been varied under section 42 remains an order of the court
that first made it for the purposes of any further application under that section.
(8)Subsection (9) applies in a case where—
(a)15an order made against a person is varied under section 42 so as to
include an additional requirement, or to extend the period for which
the order, or a requirement imposed by the order, has effect, and
(b)the person was not given notice of the proceedings.
(9)The person commits an offence under section 37 only if—
(a)20the behaviour constituting the offence was engaged in at a time when
the person was aware of the making of the variation, and
(b)the behaviour would not have constituted an offence under that section
in the absence of the variation.
44 Appeals
(1)25A person listed in subsection (2) may appeal against any decision of a court on
an application for a domestic abuse protection order under section 26 (to the
extent that it would not otherwise be so appealable).
(2)The persons referred to in subsection (1) are—
(a)the person for whose protection the order was sought,
(b)30the person who applied for the order (if different), and
(c)where the court made a domestic abuse protection order under section
26, the person against whom it was made.
(3)A person against whom a domestic abuse protection order is made under
subsection (3), (5) or (6) of section 29 may appeal against the making of the
35order (to the extent it would not otherwise be so appealable) as if it were a
sentence passed on the person for the offence referred to in that subsection
(assuming, in a case within section 29(5) or (6), that the person had been
convicted of the offence).
(4)A person against whom a domestic abuse protection order is made may appeal
40against a variation of the order under section 42 that is made in a case within
subsection (3), (5) or (6) of section 29 (to the extent it would not otherwise be so
appealable) as if the varied order were a sentence passed on the person for the
offence referred to in that subsection (assuming, in a case within section 29(5)
or (6), that the person had been convicted of the offence).