D and M
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NIMag 1 |
| Date | 05 January 2021 |
| Court | Magistrates' Court (Northern Ireland) |
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Neutral Citation No: [2021] NIMag 1
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: [2021] NIMag 1
ICOS No:
Delivered: 05/01/21
IN THE DOMESTIC PROCEEDINGS COURT IN BELFAST
D
(Applicant)
AND
M
(Respondent)
District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) John I Meehan
1. This is an application for a Non-Molestation Order, pursuant to
Article 20 of the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern
Ireland) Order 1998 (hereinafter “the 1998 Order”). There was at the
outset an additional application that it be heard immediately, without
notice to the Respondent.
2. The Application Form F1 was signed in the corporate name of a
Solicitor’s office and dated 2nd November. The grounding Statement
on the Applicant’s part was unsigned and undated.
3. The Guide issued by the Office of the Lord Chief Justice in respect of
the Covid-19 exigencies provides;
… as a temporary measure subject to review, to verify
grounding statements in ex parte applications in the Domestic
Proceedings Court, a solicitor may provide written
confirmation from the applicant, including by text or email, to
confirm that (s)he agrees the Statement, or, if that is not
feasible for reasons stated, a written assurance from the
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solicitor that the Statement has been read to the applicant and
approved.
4. However, the fact that this protocol had not been followed was not
the reason for refusing leave to proceed ex parte. This is an application
by a daughter who, it appears, originates from England and who had
been removed from her parents’ care on a number of occasions in
childhood until the final and permanent care arrangements in 2004,
by which point the family had moved from England to Scotland. The
Applicant accounted for these events by reference to allegations of
violence and mental illness on the part of her mother, the
Respondent, speculating that she might have suffered from bi-polar
disorder or paranoid schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. It was also asserted that the Respondent had been an in-
patient in mental health facilities in England at times. The
Respondent, meanwhile, continues to reside in Scotland.
5. The Applicant moved to Northern Ireland at some point and is
employed here. She complained of an anonymous and malicious
message sent to her present employers a few years ago, alleging that
she was a “lunatic troublemaker” and which she believed came from
the Respondent mother. More recently, and the catalyst for the
application, the Respondent resorted to Twitter and has there made
serious and offensive allegations against the Applicant, the last of
these being on 29th October 2020. That was reported to the Police in
Northern Ireland and the Applicant indicates that a harassment
investigation is currently underway. Indeed, the Respondent has
advised the Court that she has since been interviewed by Scottish
Police.
6. In the grounding Statement, the Applicant went on to assert that her
mother’s behaviour was escalating rapidly and the Applicant was
afraid that “… given her nomadic lifestyle she may evade the police
and attempt to carry out threats against me or my family.” No other
details of this “nomadic” lifestyle were offered.
7. In these circumstances, the Applicant sought leave to seek ex parte
relief on the basis that she feared for her safety, especially when the
Respondent learned that the Applicant had made a complaint to the
Police and she continued, “Therefore, I respectfully request the protection
of the court through an ex parte Non-Molestation Order as I believe that if
the Respondent knew I was making this application to the court she would
attempt to stop me.”
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