How many times can a Warrant of Arrest issued together with either an Interim or Final Protection Order be used - Domestic Violence Act, 1998
It very often happens that one person applies for a protection order against another, and a warrant of arrest is issued. The warrant is issued by the court in a case where there is an interim protection order which has been awarded or a final protection order. It even sometimes happens that two parties have protection orders against each other and each have a warrant of arrest which can be used.
I recently had a client who had been abused by his girlfriend. She had even gone to the extent of physically assaulting him to such a degree that he had to go to work with a bruised face. After this incident he applied for a protection order against her, which was made a court order. She assaulted him again and he used the warrant of arrest to have her locked up.
After this a further incident occurred where he was assaulted. He phoned the police and asked them whether he could use the warrant of arrest a second time to have his girlfriend locked up. The police advised him that he had already used the warrant once and therefore he could not use it again. He would have to go back to court to apply for another warrant to be issued.
According to the Domestic Violence Act, the clerk of the court must issue the complainant with a second or further warrant of arrest if the complainant files an affidavit in the prescribed form stating that the warrant is required for his or her protection and that the existing warrant of arrest has been executed or cancelled or lost or destroyed. This is in terms of section 8(3) of the Domestic Violence Act.
The prescribed form dealing with the issue of a warrant of arrest is on Form 8 of the Act. When an interim protection order is granted in terms of section 5(2) of the Act, or a final order in terms of section 6(1) of the Act, warrants of arrest for the respondent must be issued. In the case of an interim protection order, the clerk of the court must ensure that certified copies of the protection order and the warrant of arrest are forwarded to the police station of the complainant’s choice. This also applies with the final protection order.
The warrant of arrest issued as a result of the interim protection order should only be valid for a limited period of time, e.g. the return date. The terms of the interim protection order are likely to differ from the terms of the final protection order.
The police have to decide whether or not the complainant is in danger of imminent harm before arresting someone. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the complainant, as a result of the breach of the protection order, may suffer imminent harm then the SAPS must arrest the respondent.
The reason why the courts force a person to apply for a second warrant is to prevent abuse of the protection order. I have seen cases where there has been a break-up in the marriage, and every time there was an argument, the one party phoned the police and tried to get the other party locked up. Parties like this should not even be living together in the first place. With a protection order and a warrant of arrest the courts give you “one roll of the dice” so to speak to use your protection order. Once you have used it, it is done, and you would then need to go back to court to apply for another one.
Ask questions about Domestic Abuse. This is a public forum where anybody can ask and answer questions. Those answering questions may not have expertise in the subject. Do not rely on any information from this website. Consult with a lawyer before making decisions and taking actions.
