Criminal Justice Act 2006

Civil orders.

115.—(1) On application made in accordance with this section, the District Court may make an order (a “civil order”) prohibiting the respondent from doing anything specified in the order if the court is satisfied that—

(a) the respondent has behaved in an anti-social manner,

(b) the order is necessary to prevent the respondent from continuing to behave in that manner, and

(c) having regard to the effect or likely effect of that behaviour on other persons, the order is reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.

(2) The court may impose terms or conditions in the civil order that the court considers appropriate.

(3) An application for a civil order may only be made by a senior member of the Garda Síochána and shall be made—

(a) on notice to the respondent, and

(b) in the district court district in which the respondent resides at the time.

(4) Before making the application, the senior member of the Garda Síochána must be satisfied that either or both of the following conditions have been met:

(a) the respondent has been issued a behaviour warning and has not complied with one or more of the demands of that warning;

(b) the respondent has been issued 3 or more behaviour warnings in less than 6 consecutive months.

(5) The respondent in an application under subsection (1) may not at any time be charged with, prosecuted or punished for an offence if the act or omission that constitutes the offence is the same behaviour that is the subject of the application and is to be determined by the court under subsection (1)(a).

(6) Unless discharged under subsection (7), a civil order remains in force for no more than the lesser of the following:

(a) two years from the date the order is made;

(b) the period specified in the order.

(7) The court may vary or discharge a civil order on the application of the person subject to that order or a senior member of the Garda Síochána.

(8) An applicant under subsection (7) shall give notice of the application—

(a) if the applicant is the person subject to the civil order, to a senior member of the Garda Síochána in the Garda Síochána district in which the applicant resides, or

(b) if the applicant is a senior member of the Garda Síochána, to the person who is the subject of the civil order.

(9) The standard of proof in proceedings under this section is that applicable to civil proceedings.

(10) The jurisdiction conferred on the District Court by this section may be exercised as follows:

(a) in respect of subsections (1) and (2), by a judge of the District Court for the time being assigned to the district court district in which the respondent resides at the time the application is made;

(b) in respect of subsection (7), by a judge of the District Court for the time being assigned to the district court district in which the person subject to the civil order resides at the time the application is made.