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Difference between revisions of "Enforcing Orders in Family Matters"

From Clicklaw Wikibooks
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You sometimes hear people complaining about how the court didn't help them do this or that, or how the court failed to protect their children or their car or their chihuahua. A popular misunderstanding about the court system is that it monitors and enforces its own decisions. It doesn't. That's up to you.
You sometimes hear people complaining about how the court didn't help them do this or that, or how the court failed to protect their children or their car or their chihuahua. A popular misunderstanding about the court system is that it monitors and enforces its own decisions. It doesn't. That's up to you.


In a very narrow sense, the job of the court is to hear the court proceedings brought before it and to make decisions about what is fair and appropriate in the circumstances of each proceeding. The person who begins the court proceeding, the ''claimant'', is responsible for managing their case and ultimately convincing the judge why the orders they are asking for are fair and appropriate. The person against whom the proceeding is brought, the ''respondent'', is responsible to defending themself and explaining why the orders the claimant wants are unfair and inappropriate. The job of the judge is to manage the trial, listen to the parties and their evidence, and then decide what a fair and appropriate result is.  
In a very narrow sense, the job of the court is to hear the court proceedings brought before it and to make decisions about what is fair and appropriate in the circumstances of each proceeding. The person who begins the court proceeding, the ''claimant'', is responsible for managing their case and ultimately convincing the judge why the orders they are asking for are fair and appropriate. The person against whom the proceeding is brought, the ''respondent'', is responsible to defending themselves and explaining why the orders the claimant wants are unfair and inappropriate. The job of the judge is to manage the trial, listen to the parties and their evidence, and then decide what a fair and appropriate result is.  


The judge's decision is a ''court order''. It is binding on the parties and they risk being held in contempt of court if they do something different than what the order requires. Remember that the order takes effect the moment the judge says it (not its stamped date which can often be considerably later).
The judge's decision is a ''court order''. It is binding on the parties and they risk being held in contempt of court if they do something different than what the order requires. Remember that the order takes effect the moment the judge says it (not its stamped date which can often be considerably later).