The Orders a Court can Make
Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 set out the four main types of order a Court can make when asked to resolve a dispute :
- Residence Order
- Contact Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
Note that once an application for any type of order has been made to a Court, the Court can make any order it thinks fit. Meanwhile, the Applicant has no power to withdraw an application unilaterally or with the agreement of the other party. Only the Court can give permission and the Court may still make an order of its motion. A judge, for example, facing a battle over residence between two warring parties, may decide to place the child with someone completely different or invite Social Services to intervene and start care proceedings.
A court has power to make an order only in respect of a child under 16.