The appellant had been made subject to a suspended committal to prison. He was involved with children proceedings, and had published details on the Internet which would make the social worker traceable.
Held: Where a contempt was not committed in the face of the court or was not a disobedience of a court order, only the QBD had power to make an order for committal. Here the judge had failed in several ways to allow justice to the apppellant, and was in breach of the Practice Direction. Speaking of the assistance of Families Need Fathers: ‘Again, I have to say, having read many of the communications in question, a great deal of very helpful advice and sound wisdom was provided to the father as a result of his communications in that discussion.’
Judges:
Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President, Mummery, May LJJ
Citations:
Times 05-May-2003, Gazette 19-Jun-2003, [2003] EWCA Civ 489, [2003] 2 FLR 58
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Practice Direction (Family Proceedings: Committal) 2001
. .
Cited – Bush v Green 1985
Acts of contempt of court in proceedings before a county court which was neither in the face of the court, nor directly in breach of a judgment or order could only be punished by the QBD. . .
Cited by:
Cited – O and others (Children); In re O (Children), In re W-R (a Child), In re W (Children) CA 22-Jun-2005
In each case litigants in person had sought to be allowed to have the assistance and services of a Mackenzie friend in children cases. In one case, the court had not allowed confidential documents to be disclosed to the friend.
Held: The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contempt of Court
Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.181896
