| (a) | proper service has been effected on the respondent; and |
| (b) | the application contains prima facie evidence that the respondent has engaged or is engaging in harassment, |
the court must issue a protection order in the prescribed form.
| (2) | If the respondent appears on the return date and opposes the issuing of a protection order, the court must proceed to hear the matter and— |
| (a) | consider any evidence previously received in terms of section 3(1); and |
| (b) | consider any further affidavits or oral evidence as it may direct, which must form part of the record of proceedings. |
| (3) | The court may, of its own accord or at the request of the complainant or related person, order that in the examination of those witnesses, including the complainant or related person, a respondent who is not represented by a legal representative— |
| (a) | is not entitled to directly cross-examine a person whom he or she is alleged to have harassed; and |
| (b) | must put any question to the person by stating the question to the court, and the court is to repeat the question accurately to the person. |
| (4) | Subject to subsection (5), the court must, after a hearing as provided for in subsection (2), issue a protection order in the prescribed form if it finds, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent has engaged or is engaging in harassment. |
| (5) | For the purpose of deciding whether the conduct of a respondent is unreasonable as referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of "harassment", the court must, in addition to any other factor, take into account whether the conduct, in the circumstances in question, was engaged in— |
| (a) | for the purpose of detecting or preventing an offence; |
| (b) | to reveal a threat to public safety or the environment; |
| (c) | to reveal that an undue advantage is being or was given to a person in a competitive bidding process; or |
| (d) | to comply with a legal duty. |
| (6) | On issuing a final protection order, the court must direct that— |
| (a) | the original of that order must be served on the respondent; and |
| (b) | a certified copy of that order, and the original warrant of arrest referred to in section 11(1)(a), must be served on the complainant, |
in the prescribed manner by the clerk of the court, sheriff or peace officer identified by the court.
| (7) | The clerk of the court must immediately, in the prescribed manner, forward certified copies of any protection order and of the warrant of arrest referred to in section 11(1)(a) to the police station of the complainant’s choice. |
| (8) | Subject to section 10(5), a protection order issued in terms of this section remains in force for a period of five years or such further period as the court may determine on good cause shown unless it is set aside, and the execution of that order is not automatically suspended upon the noting of an appeal against the order. |
