| (1) | The court must, before it issues an interim protection order referred to in section 5(2) or a final protection order referred to in section 6, establish whether there is any other order against the complainant or respondent, which was previously issued by a court that may have a bearing on the application before the court. |
| (2) | Where it is established by the court, that considers an application in terms of section 5(1), that there is another application in terms of section 5(1) pending between the same parties, the court must— |
| (a) | order that both applications be dealt with together; |
| (b) | adjourn the matter for a hearing as contemplated in section 6; and |
| (c) | give directions regarding the notification of parties and service of documents. |
| (3) | Where existing orders are in place, the court— |
| (a) | must record those orders on the court file; |
| (b) | must, where it issues a protection order, or imposes any condition or makes any order which it is competent to impose or make under section 7, ensure that the protection order does not contradict any such existing orders; and |
| (c) | may, where it is satisfied that urgent relief against an act of domestic violence is necessary, notwithstanding any other order, issue a protection order or impose any condition or make any order which it is competent to impose or make under section 7, and order that they remain in force for a limited period as determined in order to afford the complainant an opportunity to apply for the amendment, variation or setting aside of such order. |
[Section 5C inserted by section 10 of the Domestic Violence Amendment Act, 2021 (Act No. 14 of 2021), as per Notice No. 788, GG45824, dated 28 January 2022 - effective 14 April 2023 as the date on which the said Act, with the exception of section 6A, comes into operation, as per Proclamation No. 117, GG48419, dated 14 April 2023]
