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Section 42A: Offence of breaching non-molestation order

Family Law Act 1996 · 1996 c. 27View on legislation.gov.uk

Part IV: Family Homes and Domestic Violence

A person who without reasonable excuse does anything that he is prohibited from doing by a non-molestation order is guilty of an offence.

In the case of a non-molestation order made by virtue of section 45(1), a person can be guilty of an offence under this section only in respect of conduct engaged in at a time when he was aware of the existence of the order.

Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any conduct, that conduct is not punishable as a contempt of court.

A person cannot be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any conduct which has been punished as a contempt of court.

A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or a fine, or both;
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court, or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both.

A reference in any enactment to proceedings under this Part, or to an order under this Part, does not include a reference to proceedings for an offence under this section or to an order made in such proceedings.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.