The procedure to obtain a court order on temporary protection against violence has specific regulations as opposed to other civil procedure remedies. Since the protection of the victim requires due diligence and an immediate response, the court is obliged to issue the order on temporary protection within a maximum of six days from the date when the judge set the date for the hearing.
Timeframe and procedure
The court must make the decision on temporary protection against violence within six days from the date when the judge issued the order fixing the court hearing date.
example The victim sent their application for a protection order on a Monday and on this same day the judge issued the order setting up the date of the hearing on Friday. The decision on temporary protection must be made within six days after Monday, so until Sunday.
The involved parties are informed prior to the hearing. The hearing is closed to the public, and it is attended only by the parties involved and their representatives or lawyers. If the applicant refuses to meet the abuser in person, hearings may be organized in separate sessions, based upon a request from the applicant. The court order shall be issued regardless of the defendant’s failure to appear at the court.
The family court judge will issue the protection order if he considers that, in the light of the evidence presented before him, there are serious grounds for considering that the alleged acts of violence have likely been committed and that the victim or their children are at risk.
The measures provided for in the protection order are taken for a maximum period of six months. They may be extended beyond this period if an application for divorce or legal separation has been filed or if the judge has been seized of an application relating to the child custody. Also, the judge may, at any time, cancel or modify all or part of the measures set out in the protection order, decide on new measures, revoke the order etc.
Enforcement
The court’s decision on temporary protection against violence enters into force as soon as the order is notified to the parties . The police are obligated to control whether the perpetrator complies with the preventive measures ordered by the court. If the perpetrator does not comply with the measures set by the court, they can be held responsible under the Criminal Law. A breach of the obligations and prohibitions imposed by the judge in the protection order is punishable by 2 years imprisonment and a fine of 15 000 euros.