Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003

[F1 19 (1) The court may make an FGM protection order— E+W+N.I.

(a) on an application being made to it, or

(b) without an application being made to it but in the circumstances mentioned in sub-paragraph (6).

(2) An application may be made by—

(a) the girl who is to be protected by the order, or

(b) a relevant third party.

(3) An application may be made by any other person with the leave of the court.

(4) In deciding whether to grant leave, the court must have regard to all the circumstances including—

(a) the applicant's connection with the girl to be protected;

(b) the applicant's knowledge of the circumstances of the girl.

(5) An application under this paragraph may be made in family proceedings or without any family proceedings being instituted.

(6) The circumstances in which the court may make an order without an application being made are where—

(a) any family proceedings are before the court (“the current proceedings”),

(b) the court considers that an FGM protection order should be made to protect a girl (whether or not a party to the proceedings), and

(c) a person who would be a respondent to any proceedings for an FGM protection order is a party to the current proceedings.

(7) In this paragraph—

• “family proceedings” has the same meaning as in the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1071 (N.I. 6)) (see Article 2(2) and (3) of that Order), but also includes—

  (a)

  proceedings under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to adults,

  (b)

  proceedings in which the court has made an emergency protection order under Article 63 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2)) which includes an exclusion requirement (as defined in Article 63A of that Order), and

  (c)

  proceedings in which the court has made an order under Article 69 of that 1995 Order (recovery of abducted children etc);

• “relevant third party” means a person specified, or falling within a description of persons specified, by order made by the Department of Finance and Personnel (and any such order may, in particular, specify that Department).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 2 inserted (17.7.2015) by Serious Crime Act 2015 (c. 9), ss. 73(2), 88(1) (with s. 86(14)(15)); S.I. 2015/1428, reg. 2(a)