Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978

18 Powers of arrest for breach of s. 16 order

(1) Where a magistrates' court makes an order under section 16 of this Act which provides that the respondent—

(a) shall not use violence against the person of the applicant, or

(b) shall not use violence against a child of the family, or

(c) shall not enter the matrimonial home,

the court may, if it is satisfied that the respondent has physically injured the applicant or a child of the family and considers that he is likely to do so again, attach a power of arrest to the order.

(2) Where by virtue of subsection (1) above a power of arrest is attached to an order, a constable may arrest without warrant a person whom he has reasonable cause for suspecting of being in breach of any such provision of the order as is mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) above by reason of that person's use of violence or, as the case may be, his entry into the matrimonial home.

(3) Where a power of arrest is attached to an order under subsection (1) above and the respondent is arrested under sub section (2) above—

(a) he shall be brought before a justice of the peace within a period of 24 hours beginning at the time of his arrest, and

(b) the justice of the peace before whom he is brought may remand him.

In reckoning for the purposes of this subsection any period of 24 hours, no account shall be taken of Christmas Day, Good Friday, or any Sunday.

(4) Where a court has made an order under section 16 of this Act but has not attached to the order a power of arrest under subsection (1) above, then, if at any time the applicant for that order considers that the other party to the marriage in question has disobeyed the order, he may apply for the issue of a warrant for the arrest of that other party to a justice of the peace for the commission area in which either party to the marriage ordinarily resides; but a justice of the peace shall not issue a warrant on such an application unless—

(a) the application is substantiated on oath, and

(b) the justice has reasonable grounds for believing that the other party to the marriage has disobeyed that order.

(5) The magistrates' court before whom any person is brought by virtue of a warrant issued under subsection (4) above may remand him.