# Domestic Abuse Act 2021, Section 31: Domestic abuse protection orders otherwise than on application

Extent: E+W

(1) A court may make a domestic abuse protection order under this section in any of the cases set out below.
Family proceedings
(2) The High Court or the family court may make a domestic abuse protection order against a person (“P”) in any family proceedings to which both P and the person for whose protection the order would be made are parties.
Criminal proceedings
(3) Where a person (“P”) has been convicted of an offence, the court dealing with P for that offence may (as well as sentencing P or dealing with P in any other way) make a domestic abuse protection order against P.
(4) But subsection (3) does not apply where the Court of Appeal is dealing with a person for an offence.
(5) A court by or before which a person is acquitted of an offence may make a domestic abuse protection order against the person.
(6) Where the Crown Court allows a person's appeal against a conviction for an offence, the Crown Court may make a domestic abuse protection order against the person.
Civil proceedings
(7) The county court may make a domestic abuse protection order against a person (“P”) in any relevant proceedings to which both P and the person for whose protection the order would be made are parties.
(8) In subsection (7) “relevant proceedings” means proceedings of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/17/section/31 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/domestic-abuse-act-2021/section-31
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.