What Now?

The Order itself will not be effective until it has been brought to the attention of the person to whom it relates. This is called “service” and a person cannot be arrested or punished for breaching an Order until this has taken place.

If you have told the Court that your hearing was urgent, the Court will expect you to serve its Order on the Respondent as soon as you can. There are people called Process Servers who serve court orders and other legal documents. You ought to consider using their services to serve your order.

With help from you, they can locate the Respondent and serve the papers on him, explaining to him what they are and what they mean. The Process Server will then swear a statement proving to the Court that the Respondent has been served and, once this is done, you are fully protected should the Respondent choose to disobey the Order. If the Order includes a power of arrest you will also need to inform the local police that it has been served on the Respondent. This is done by the Process Server and is important since the police cannot arrest the Respondent for breach of the Order until this is done. If the Respondent cannot be located, the Process Server may be able to advise you on alternative steps that can be taken to bring the Order to the Respondent’s attention.

To contact a firm of Process Servers, please click the red button below.

Once the Order is served you are fully protected within its terms. It will just remain for the Court to reconsider the case at the return date. As we have said, the Respondent may well attend the return date and may ask the Court to discharge or vary the Order.

If he does so, like you, the Respondent will have to serve evidence in the form of a witness statement, and you should have an opportunity to consider what is said in these before you got to Court. Remember that the judge must give you both a fair hearing and approach the case with an open mind.

He will want to help you, but you must help him by being as clear as possible in the evidence you give and the information you put before him. If the Respondent is likely to deny using violence against you, try and obtain independent evidence (such as a medical report made at the time, or a complaint made to the police). If it is necessary for you to actually give evidence at the hearing, try to be as clear as possible in what you say.

If, having considered both sides of the case, the judge considers that the Respondent has used or threatened domestic violence, then he will want to protect you by continuing the order into the future. If, at some future date, you consider that further protection is necessary, then you can bring the case before the Court again and ask them to make other Orders for your safety and protection.

Through all of this remember that the Courts are a service provided to help you. The judges who sit in them are dedicated to upholding the law and protection from domestic violence is high on their list of priorities. Their procedures are designed to ensure that everyone has a fair hearing and they can be complex, but they are not designed to deter you from making your application and you should not hesitate to seek assistance from the Court staff, or the judge, if you are feeling confused or bewildered.

Above all, you should view the Court as your ally in your battle to rid your life of the fear, tyranny and oppression of domestic violence. Remember that they cannot help if you do not ask them to.

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