INTERIM INTERDICTS AND COURT CAVEATS

The Interim Interdict In Scotland, an Interim Interdict lasts for One Year and One Day.
So be very wary if you give your child's other parent any reason to seek advice from the police after your break up. They might tell them that you are abusive and controlling, violent and aggressive and might even attempt to have an investigation made about you as an alleged paedophile. In such circumstances, the police would do well to advise the complainant, initially to obtain a non-harassment order and have powers of arrest attached to it. At this stage, why shouldn't that parent be believed? Abuse is a serious offence and having the police compile a profile of you with regards to the abuse of children, very serious indeed.

After the police have advised the seeking of a non-harassment order, a lawyer may then advise to get an Interim Interdict, to keep you at an arms length from your children when they are with the resident parent. An Interim Interdict can be sought without the knowledge of the other party. Without your realisation, someone can actually go to court, behind your back, giving you no option to defend yourself and have what you might undertand as a restraining order, put on you. This restraining order, or "Interdict" will be served to you in the time when the Pursuer of the Interdict has to wait until the actual case can be heard in court, which then gives the Defendant a chance to answer to the allegations made by the Pursuer. Having an Interim Interdict placed on a person who you think may cause you harm means that you are, in theory, safe from any harm that they might want to cause you, if that person is intent on doing you harm. I reiterate... If that person is intent on doing you harm. When you are served the papers, you might be astounded to read the affidavit which your ex-partner has made and signed in the presence of a lawyer. If there are lies, you may need to have evidence that they are lies to prove your innocence. The old addage that you are innocent until you are proven guilty does not always apply in practice, but in theory it is a worthy and humane thought. The only way possible to defend an Interim Interdict is by lodging a CAVEAT with the Sheriff Court prior to any action raised against you. This CAVEAT will ensure that the courts make contact with you if an interim interdict is to be raised against you. You or your solicitor can then attend the hearing and defend it. You don't even need a solicitor to draw up the caveat form - it is so simple. The Sheriff Clerk types it into their database which is checked each time a solicitor raises an interim interdict. This is so easy and a very common but often an unknown course of action to the general public. The CAVEAT costs around £30 and lasts for one year. Upon expiry of your CAVEAT, you can renew it if need be.

The hearing then takes place and your ex-partner's requests to have a non-harassment order and interdict with power of arrest will only be refused if you can prove your innocence in the whole sordid ordeal. But even if the non-harassment order and interdict with power of arrest are denied, it will be very likely that it is beyond your financial capability to have the interim interdict turned around. The action of it may be sisted, which means that the court keeps a record of the action and can bring that interdict back at any time to grant the non-harassment order and grant it powers of arrest, if at any time you breach that interim interdict. It will therefore be illegal for you to try and make contact with your child when he or she is with the resident parent, for exactly; one year and one day after the interim interdict has been served. It might cost you up to 6 months worth of your own hard earned wages in legal fees to have the interim interdict completely recinded. A good lawyer however, should advise you not to defend an interim interdict. If your lawyer has made an effort to come to a mutual agreement with your ex's lawyer and that mutual agreement has been refused, legal aid may be made available to you to defend the interdict, non-harassment order and powers of arrest, if you qualify for legal aid. You should advise your lawyer to contact your local legal aid board to find out the exact stipulations on this. Most lawyers don't know this.

In the end, an interim interdict will not be enough to persuade a family court that you are a bad parent, it will merely make it difficult for the resident parent to arrange the weekly handover of your child, when you obtain a court order to give you contact with your child. It is usually common for your lawyer, when defending an interdict, non-harassment order to add a clause into it from the outset, which will state that the interdict etc will bear no significance to your contact and access case with your child or children. So don't worry if your ex has pursued this method to try and keep you away, it is only a delaying tactic and cannot harm your case for contact, unless of course, you have been violent and face criminal prosecution for your actions.