header-logo header-logo

Arresting developments

03 June 2016 / Jonathan Herring
Issue: 7701 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail
nlj_7701_herring

Jonathan Herring investigates what behaviour amounts to harassment

Normally when a court order is breached an individual will face sanctions for contempt of court. However, the position in relation to non-molestation orders made under the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) is a little different. Section 42A of FLA 1996 makes it a criminal offence to breach such an order. This provision was designed to enhance protection to victims of domestic violence by placing responsibility for enforcement in the hands of the police, rather than depending on the victim bring proceedings herself. In particular it was designed to address the concern that a victim of domestic abuse might be threatened by the abuser into not to bringing contempt proceedings.

The facts of O’Neill

In R v O’Neill [2016] EWCA Crim 92, [2016] All ER (D) 216 (Mar) the Court of Appeal had to determine what kinds of breach of a non-molestation order might constitute an offence. Section 42A itself states that any breach of the order amounts to an offence. However, following this decision it is

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
back-to-top-scroll