An injunction is a court order preventing someone from doing something, or occasionally ordering them to do something.
They are used in a range of situations, including protecting people from abuse in family law as well as for freezing assets and preventing the publication of certain facts.
Summary
- What is an Injunction Used For?
- What Types of Injunctions are Available?
- When is an Injunction Needed?
- How Do I Get an Injunction?
- What Will Happen When I Go to Court for an Injunction?
- How Long Does an Injunction Last?
- Contact Our Family Law Solicitors
What is an Injunction Used For?
An injunction can be used in a family law situation to prevent someone abusive from harming others, such as partners, former partners or children. An injunction can keep an individual away from certain people or instruct them on what access they can have to the family home and surrounding area.
What Types of Injunctions are Available?
In family law, there are two main types of injunction:
- A non-molestation order; and
- An occupation order
An injunction can also be:
- A preliminary injunction;
- A temporary injunction; or
- A permanent injunction
An injunction ordering someone not to do something is a prohibitory injunction while an injunction ordering someone to take a particular action is a mandatory injunction.
A non-molestation order is made to protect an individual from physical harm. This could be harassment, intimidation or pestering.
The order can prohibit a range of actions, including:
- Violence, intimidation, threats, pestering or harassment
- Contact, including by phone, email, text, social media or in person
- Going to your place of work
If you share a property with an abusive partner and the property is in your joint name or their name, you can also ask the court to make an occupation order.
An occupation order is the court’s decision about who can live in and access a property. The court has a range of options open to it, including ordering that:
- Your abuser must leave the property
- They must stay a specified distance away from the property
- They can only be in certain parts of the property at specified times, giving you some space where they cannot enter
- The rent or mortgage and other bills must be paid by the abusive party
- They must allow you access to the property
When is an Injunction Needed?
If you have been the victim of threats, harassment, pestering or other abuse, you may need an injunction to stop this from happening and to keep you and your children safe.
You will need to be associated with your abuser in order to ask for an injunction. This could be done in several different ways, including:
- You were married, engaged, in a civil partnership or living together
- You are related
- You have a child together
- You were in an intimate relationship together
- You both have parental responsibility for the same child
How Do I Get an Injunction?
You will need to make a statement explaining what has happened and complete a statement of truth confirming that what you have said is accurate and truthful.
If you need an injunction to provide immediate protection, your solicitor can make an emergency application and you may be granted an interim injunction for the period leading up to a hearing.
Do I Need Legal Advice to Get an Injunction?
You will need to provide enough evidence to persuade the court to grant an injunction and you may need to do this quickly. It is not always straightforward and it is important to provide the right evidence and make a strong case. For this reason, you are recommended to ask a solicitor to represent you if you believe you need the protection of an injunction.
What Will Happen When I Go to Court for an Injunction?
The other party has the right to respond in court to the allegations made against them.
If an injunction application is made ‘with notice’, they will be told when the hearing is and will be able to make their case.
If you have requested an emergency injunction, the other party will not be told about the application or the first hearing. This is referred to as a ‘without notice’ application. An interim injunction can be granted in their absence. They will be given a date for a return hearing, at which they will be able to have their evidence heard. The court will decide at the return hearing whether to grant a final injunction.
How Long Does an Injunction Last?
An interim injunction will last until the final hearing. The judge may then make a final injunction. This could last for any period of time that the court feels is necessary. Typically, it can be for between six months and two years. In extreme circumstances, an injunction can last indefinitely.
What Happens If an Injunction is Breached?
It is a criminal offence to breach an injunction. You can call the police if an injunction is breached. If the injunction has a power of arrest attached, they will be able to take the individual into custody. It is also open to you to ask your solicitor to apply to the court to penalise your abuser.
The courts can impose sanctions on the individual for breaching an injunction. The family court can impose some penalties and the criminal courts have more options to sanction someone, including fines and imprisonment, for the most serious offences.
Contact Our Family Law Solicitors
If you have experienced domestic abuse, you are strongly advised to speak to a solicitor without delay. If you call to speak to us, our family law solicitors will take steps straightaway to protect you and help you through this difficult time.
If you are in immediate danger, call the police by ringing 999.
You can also speak to Refuge’s 24-hour national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247.
To speak with one of our proficient family attorneys, you can reach us by sending an email to info@witansolicitors.co.uk or completing our contact form. We will carefully examine your situation and engage in a discussion about how we can provide assistance. Our offices are conveniently located in Birmingham, Northampton, and London.
