A 'Barring Order' is an order made by the Court barring the person (a prospective applicant) from making a Children Acts Application without the permission of the Court.
Below article is an open discussion on Section 91 (14) Order, authored by a Family Law Paralegal who at the time of authoring this article is a Fellow Member of the National Association Of Licensed Paralegals:
Contents:
What does Section 91 (14) say?
S.91(14) states: ‘On disposing of any application for an order under this Act, the court may (whether or not it makes any other order in response to the application) order that no application for an order under this Act of any specified kind may be made with respect to the child concerned by any person named in the order without leave of the court’.
The law surrounding barring orders is Section 91(14) of the Children’s Act 1981 and can be found here.
What does the Judge consider when making a Section 91 (14) Barring Order?
The Judge considers the following guidelines when considering the decision on the barring order.
The Judge is guided to read Section 1(1) of the Children Act (Welfare of the child the paramount consideration) s section 91.14 when considering whether to make a section 91.14 order
The Judge needs to consider all facts of the matter and apply his thoughtful discretion while deciding to make or not make the Barring Order. The court will only make a barring order if the court is convinced that the party is making repeated and unreasonable applications.
Why are Section 91 (14) Orders seen as the last resort?
Section 91 (14) order is not granted without serious consideration of all factors.
The Court will consider making an Order that will be proportionate to the possible harm the court plans caused by repeated applications to control.
The Court weighs all facts, previous applications and circumstances while deciding to make a Section 91 (14) order.
The Impact of Section 91.14 Barring Orders
A Section 91 (14) Barring Order (as it is casually termed) impacts the rights of an individual to make Court applications, this amounts to restricting the individual’s statutory right to bring a proceeding before the Court in regards to Children Matters. Section 91 (14) is thus a profoundly serious consideration.
If an order is made against that individual, then the impacted individual will need the permission of the Court to make any Children Law applications (or as the case may be based on the Order of the Court).
The Courts thus use this power as an exception, and not as a practise, and of course not as a rule in any event.
Exceptionally, in suitable situation backed by clear evidence, a court may make the Section 91 (14) order in cases where the Welfare of the child requires it even if there is no history of making unreasonable applications. Such an order is generally based on Section 1 (Subsection 1) of Children Law Act 1989, which says that the Welfare of the child is of paramount consideration.
The Court would generally ensure that the party against which Section 91 (14) order is being made has advance notice of the consideration of the said Order in a hearing.
Can Section 91.14 'Barring Orders' be made Ex Parte?
It is considered undesirable to make such an Order Ex Parte. (without the presence of one of the parties in the court). There is Case Law around Ex Parte orders being challenged in the appeal court.
What is the duration for which the Court makes a Section 91 (14) Order?
The Court generally define the time for which the Court is making the order. For example this could be till the child reached the age of 16 Years or for the next 2 years from the date of the Court Order. However it is possible for the court to deliberately not state the time duration of the order.
If you need help with Family Law Matters / Children Act Matters such as barring orders, please feel free to contact us on Help@inCourt.co.uk or call us on 07375757523. You can also use the contact forms at the top and bottom of our web pages.
This blog article should not be taken as Legal Advice.
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