The Act – an Overview Banning orders Section 20 – Criteria for granting banning order
33.This section specifies that a sheriff may only grant a banning order where satisfied that an adult at risk is likely to be seriously harmed, and that banning the other person from a place occupied by the adult (for example, their home or place of residence) would better safeguard the adult’s well-being and property than the removal of the adult at risk. In addition, the sheriff must also be satisfied that the adult at risk is entitled, or permitted, to occupy the place from which the subject is to be banned or, alternatively, that neither the adult at risk nor the subject is so entitled or permitted. This means that a person who is entitled to occupy a place cannot be banned from that place by someone who is not so entitled.