A County Court judge has no power to imprison a contemnor pending a sentence decision. Time spent in custody awaiting trial for contempt would not automatically be set off against the final sentence. Proceedings for contempt can be restored after sentence so that consideration could be given to whether the contemnor had purged his contempt. Sir Thomas Bingham MR said: ‘the enforcement of orders is the prime object and the personal circumstances of the contemnor are a relatively minor consideration’.
Sir Thomas Bingham MR differentiated contempts in the face of the court, saying: ‘I should make absolutely plain that in the course of his submissions Mr Munby put entirely on one side contempts in the face of the court. Those are the subject of special provisions in the lower courts, section 118(1) of the County Court Act 1984 governing the position in the county court and section 12(1) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 governing the position in the magistrates’ court. A power has long been exercised by the superior courts to detain those committing or apparently committing contempts in the face of the court until the rising of the court on the day of the alleged contempt and there is no reason to doubt the existence of that inherent power. It has, however, no bearing on the present situation which was not such a contempt’
Judges:
Sir Thomas Bingham MR, Balcombe LJ
Citations:
Ind Summary 27-Nov-1995, Times 02-Nov-1995, [1996] QB 387
Statutes:
Contempt of Court Act 1981 14(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Sevketoglu v Sevketoglu CA 21-Aug-2003
The appellant had broken two court orders, and appealed a sentence of two months imprisonment. He had been held on remand for 28 days before the court hearing.
Held: The judge should have given allowance for the time spent in custody already. . .
Cited – Balli, Re Contempt of Court Act 1981 (No. 2) ChD 15-Jul-2011
The defendant litigant had been found guilty of contempt in the face of court and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. The contemnor now sought to purge his contempt.
Held: The sentence had been imposed as punishment and not to seek to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contempt of Court
Updated: 20 December 2022; Ref: scu.79888