Domestic Abuse
There has been a lot of publicity recently regarding this matter. If the person you live with is violent or abusive to you or if your relationship has already broken down because of domestic abuse and you feel unsafe in your own home there may be several options available to you for protection.
There are various steps that you can take to stop the abusive behaviour and the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 has introduced further measures.
Court orders
There are Court orders called Interdicts that stop people from doing something such as threatening you, or going somewhere i.e. hanging about outside your property. There are different kinds of Interdicts and the new legislation has made several changes to the way in which these work.
For example general Interdicts can now be used to stop a person from going to your childrens school as well as your home.
There are other more specific types of Interdict called “matrimonial Interdicts” and “relevant Interdicts”. Before the new law came into force these Interdicts could stop certain forms of violent and abusive behaviour and could forbid your partner from being in the area of the family home once her or she had been put out. The new legislation means that matrimonial and relevant Interdicts now also cover your work place, your second home (if you are living somewhere else) and if you have children the school that they go to. However the new law makes it clear that these Interdicts have a specific purpose and are not to be used as an easy way of banning your partner from the home. You should speak to a Solicitor specialising in Family Law for further advice.
The new law has also introduced another kind of Interdict that may help protect you. These are called “domestic Interdicts”. They have a similar effect to matrimonial and relevant Interdicts but the difference is that they apply to people who are not married or in a civil partnership but who are living with a partner. Simply you can now get the same protection from the Court as couples who are married or are in a civil partnership. If you get a domestic Interdict from the Court and your partner doesn’t do what it says they are liable to be arrested.
Power of arrest
If you have got such an order as an Interdict or exclusion order from the Court to protect you from domestic abuse or to get your partner out of the house the order might also have a “power of arrest” attached to it. This means that if your partner doesn’t do what the court order says he or she can be arrested by the Police.
For further information regarding this topic contact a Solicitor who specialises in Family Law.
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