From what date does the period for making the disposition decision run in a domestic protection case, and what could make that period longer?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
The practice file to read here is the referral or transfer paper showing the date the court received the case, and any record explaining a delay, such as a request for investigation or a party's absence, which the court might treat as a special reason.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading holds that where a disposition decision is made without special reason, it must be made within the period the provision sets, counted from the day the case was referred, or, where it was transferred to another court, from the day of that transfer.
Another reading stresses the condition 'unless there is special reason', which lets the period run longer where the file shows one, while the provision neither defines what counts as special reason nor states what follows if the decision is made late.
Your judgment
If the decision came after the period with no recorded explanation, does the file contain anything the court could read as a special reason?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the length of the period or its starting event, or if a court decision explains what counts as a special reason or what follows a late decision.