Enforcing orders about children
Obtaining contact orders can be stressful enough; not only on parents but also on the children at the centre of the dispute… so what happens when parents do not comply with the contact order?
One option for the Court is to penalise the offending parent by ordering them to pay costs. Alternatively, if contact orders are persistently breached then ultimately you can apply (or threaten to apply) for the parent breaching the order to be sent to prison.
The apparent problem with these powers is that, in what are already sensitive cases, contempt proceedings add further stress and anxiety to the children involved, especially if they result in a parent being imprisoned.
Another option is to switch residence of the children to the parent seeking to have contact with the child, but again this could upset the children.
Legislation introduced in December 2008 has given the Court further (and more sensitive) powers to help settle disputes and enforce contact orders. These include the ability to set what are known as “Contact Activity Directions” or “Contact Activity Conditions” upon the contact arrangements. Examples of such directions/conditions include requiring parents to attend classes or meetings with counsellors, or having contact monitored by a Court appointed officer.
Since December 2008 all contact orders issued by the Court come complete with a notice warning parents of the possible consequences of breaching the order. Where contact orders have been breached (without good reason!) the Court can impose unpaid work, or other forms of financial penalty against the offending parent.
These warning notices can also be applied for in respect of existing orders made before the legislation was introduced.
