The joint public consultation by the Department of Justice and the Department for Communities covers areas including ASBOs, drinking in public, injunctions against anti-social behaviour and absolute grounds for possession in social housing.

The courts can currently issue an ASBO to any individual over 10 years old if satisfied that the individual has behaved in a manner that has caused, or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person not of the same household and that an order is necessary to protect persons within Northern Ireland from further anti-social acts by that individual.

The consultation sets out proposals to bring Northern Ireland’s ASBO regime in line with changes made in England and Wales a decade ago, including the introduction of “positive requirements” — e.g. requiring an individual to engage in an alcohol awareness course — and expanding the definition of anti-social behaviour to improve councils and housing providers’ access to ASBOs.

It also sets out a proposal to lower the standard of proof necessary for the imposition of an ASBO on application from the criminal standard to the civil standard, though the standard of proof the court will apply when considering any breach of an order will remain the criminal standard.

The consultation will run from 28 November to 4 March 2024. Any subsequent legislative proposals would require ministerial approval.