The Solicitor General sought the committal of the respondent for alleged contempt of court. There had been repeated litigation between the respondent and her former husband as to whether the children should live in Spain with the father or in Wales with the mother. An order, with penal notice attached requiring the respondent to return the children to Spain, but she had failed to comply.
Held: The Case was not made out and the application failed. However: ‘It is quite clear, in my judgment, that the Law Officers have locus to apply for the committal of an alleged contemnor even if the contempt is civil and involves the breach of an order obtained, as in the present case, by a private individual in the course of proceedings between private individuals. The Law Officers act to safeguard the public interest and the administration of justice.’
However, the order here was not so phrased as to allow committal for its breach: ‘What the order required the mother to do was to: ‘deliver up the children into the care of the father . . at Cardiff Railway Station at no later than 4pm on 12 October 2012.’
Suppose that for some reason she failed to do that. What then did the order require her to do? Deliver the children to the father at Cardiff Railway Station or at some other (and if so what) place? And assuming it was to be at Cardiff Railway Station by what time and on what day? Or was she (to adopt the language of a subsequent proposed order) to return, or cause the return of, the children to the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Spain by no later than a specified date and time? It is simply impossible to say. Speculation founded on uncertainty is no basis upon which anyone can be committed for contempt.’
Sir James Munby P
[2013] EWHC 2579 (Fam), [2014] 1 FLR 852
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Attorney-General v Times Newspapers Ltd HL 1973
The House considered the bringing of contempt proceedings by the Attorney General.
Held: The Attorney General must prove to the criminal standard of proof that the respondent had committed an act or omission calculated to interfere with or . .
Cited – Clarke v Chadburn 1984
Megarry VC said: ‘I should add this. Mr Burton made it explicit that he was not seeking to have any penalty imposed on any of the five defendants in respect of disobedience to any of the orders made on 10 July, even though he was founding the . .
Enforced – Venables and Thompson v News Group Newspapers and others QBD 8-Jan-2001
Where it was necessary to protect life, an order could be made to protect the privacy of individuals, by disallowing publication of any material which might identify them. Two youths had been convicted of a notorious murder when they were ten, and . .
Cited – HM Attorney General v Harkins Admn 26-Apr-2013
The Attorney General sought the committal for contempt of the respondents who were said to have published details which might identify two notorious convicted criminals wose identties were protected by injunction. Both defendants indicated that they . .
Cited – Deodat v Deodat (No 2) CA 9-Jun-1978
In the case of an application for committal for contempt, ‘it is impossible to read implied terms into an order of the court’. . .
Cited – Bedfordshire Police Constabulary v RU and Another FD 26-Jul-2013
bedfordshire_ruFD072013
The court was asked whether a police force can apply for committal for alleged breach of a forced marriage protection order made under Part 4A of the Family Law Act 1996 when the police were not the applicants who had obtained the relevant order. . .
Cited – In re S-C (Children) v H-C CA 28-Jan-2010
The appellant appealed against an order finding her in contempt of court for breach of a court order. The finding had been made in the absence of the parties. She had reported to the police a distorted version of a medical report in the children . .
Cited – Temporal v Temporal 1990
A mandatory order is not enforceable by committal unless it specifies the time for compliance . .
Cited – Kumari v Jalal CA 15-Oct-1996
A second committal for the breach of a court order requires a new hearing and a new order. When a mandatory order is not complied with there is but a single breach. . .
Cited – Heaton’s Transport (St Helen’s) Ltd v Transport and General Workers’ Union HL 1972
Injunctions had been granted against the Trades Unions to prevent them undertaking stike action. Proceedings for contempt were brought against the union after blacking had continued, despite the fact that the union through its national and local . .
Cited – Attorney-General v Times Newspapers Ltd HL 1991
Injunctions had been granted to preserve the status quo in proceedings brought to prevent the publication of the book ‘Spycatcher’. The defendants published extracts, and now appealed a finding that they had acted in contempt.
Held: The . .
Cited – Miller and Another v Scorey and Others ChD 2-Apr-1996
Using disclosed documents in second action with similar parties may be a contempt, depending significantly upon whether any undertaking, express or implied was given. The court struck out an action where proceedings were commenced in reliance on . .
Cited – Hammerton v Hammerton CA 23-Mar-2007
The husband appealed against his committal for contempt of a court order in family proceedings. The court had heard the wife’s application for his committal at the same time as his application for contact with the children.
Held: The appeal . .
Cited – In re A (A Child) (Abduction: Contempt) CA 21-Aug-2008
The father apealed against his sentence of committal for contempt of court in the course of children proceedings. During a dispute over residence, he took the child to his family in Syria and returned alone. He had then disobeyed orders requiring . .
Cited – Re L-W (Children) (Enforcement and Committal: Contact); CPL v CH-W and Others CA 4-Nov-2010
The father appealed against orders made in the county court in the course of child contact enforcement proceedings. He had residence of the child, but had repeatedly failed to make his son available for contact at the times ordered causing financial . .
Cited – Re W (A Child) (Abduction: Committal) CA 17-Aug-2011
If the sentence for an original breach of a court order has expired without compliance on the part of the contemnor – then it is necessary first to make another order specifying another date for compliance, followed, in the event of non-compliance, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contempt of Court
Leading Case
Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.514461