Injunctions are an equitable remedy designed to restrict or prevent certain behaviours. When this involves a person who has mental health issues, or who has lost the mental capacity to make decisions, it can get very complicated.
Sound legal advice is the first thing to look for if a matter relating to an injunction, or injunctions, has arisen. Most often they are tied into harassment law, or are issued for domestic violence. This is because a lot of undesirable behaviour affecting others stems from these offenses.
What kind of things do injunctions cover?
Oratto member lawyers will be able to guide you and offer advice about what steps are right for you. Typically, an injunction seeks to stop a certain behaviour, for example violence within the home or stopping someone from making continued contact with another person.
Injunctive relief is also available for housing situations where someone's conduct is a nuisance and in publishing circumstances to prevent the publication of information. There are also property injunctions which can be applied for in order to freeze assets. This typically happens when one party wishes to prevent another party from selling, or otherwise disposing of, property, shares etc. during a dispute.
What if the person who has the injunction taken out against them lacks mental capacity, or has other, serious, mental health issues?
This is where things can get a little tricky. If a person has lost capacity, or has other problems which affect their perception and understanding of the injunction, then a careful medical assessment needs to be made.
This is a sensitive area of law due to the nature of the legal tool, but Oratto member solicitors have many years combined experience to draw upon for your case. Statistics show that one in four people will have some sort of mental health issue within the course of a year, so it is not as uncommon as one might think for this situation to arise.
Medical opinion will be sought to determine whether the person is likely to be able to respond to the conditions contained within an injunction, or whether they have a disorder that will affect their behaviour. They can only be served with an injunction if they have the capacity to understand the consequences of breaking the terms of the injunction. If they do not, an injunction cannot be served upon them.
If proceedings do go ahead regarding someone who has a mental disability then a third party ‘Litigation Friend' will need to be appointed to act for them. This is usually someone in an official capacity such as a solicitor or social worker appointed through the courts.
Oratto can help you find the legal advice you need
Understanding the process of injunctions, and the terms they contain is not always easy. Solid, transparent advice is a must and Oratto member lawyers are ideally placed to give this. With years of experience on hand, we can put you in contact today with a solicitor experienced in serving and defending injunction applications.
You can tell us about your circumstances in a number of ways, via phone or through the internet, or you may wish to browse our lawyer profiles to find the member solicitor you wish to speak to.