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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














Contempt of Court - From: 2001 To: 2001

This page lists 30 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.

 
Gulf Azov Shipping Company v Idisi [2001] EWCA Civ 21
2001
CA

Contempt of Court
The defendant was found to have committed a serious breach of a freezing injunction. Held. A committal order is appropriate where there is serious contumacious flouting of orders of the court. The sentence imposed was three months suspended on condition that the contempt was purged.
1 Citers


 
Practice Direction (Family Proceedings: Committal) [2001] 1 WLR 1253
2001


Family, Human Rights, Contempt of Court

1 Citers



 
 Director of Public Prosections v Tweddell; QBD 2001 - [2002] 2 FLR 400; [2001] EWHC Admin 188
 
H v H (A Child) (Occupation Order: Power of Arrest) Times, 10 January 2001
10 Jan 2001
CA

Family, Contempt of Court
The respondent was a minor who had been violent within the family. He had been ordered to leave the family home, and a power of arrest had been attached. He argued that this could not apply because he was a minor. The fact that he could not be imprisoned for contempt, did not reduce the court's clear powers under the Act to attach such a power. The power of arrest was not a convenient short route to imprisonment for contempt, since one purpose of the power was facilitate enforcement of the order and to protect other children in the home.
Family Law Act 1996 47(2) - Criminal Justice Act 1981 1(1)

 
Shipton v Foulkes [2001] EWCA Civ 324
26 Feb 2001
CA

Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]

 
 Totalise Plc v Motley Fool Ltd and Another; QBD 15-Mar-2001 - Times, 15 March 2001; Gazette, 11 May 2001; [2001] EWHC 706 (QB); [2001] EMLR 29
 
Steen v Her Majesty's Attorney General; Attorney-General v Punch Ltd and Another Times, 30 March 2001; Gazette, 24 May 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 403; [2001] EMLR 24; [2001] 2 All ER 655; [2001] QB 1028; [2001] 2 WLR 1713
23 Mar 2001
CA
Lord Phillips MR, Simon Brown, Longmore LJJ
Contempt of Court, Media
The appellant appealed against a finding of contempt of court at common law as regards a report in Punch published when he had been its editor. Held: The appeal succeeded. The A-G had failed to establish the mens rea of contempt in the appellant.
The issue boiled down to whether an injunction could bind a third party. Lord Phillips MR summarised the principles: "a) Intentional interference with the manner which a judge is conducting a trial can amount to a contempt of court.
b) When in the course of a trial a judge makes an order with the purpose of furthering some aspect of the conduct of the trial, a third party who, with knowledge of that purpose, intentionally acts in such a way as to defeat that purpose can be in contempt of court.
c) When a plaintiff brings an action to preserve an alleged right of confidentiality in information and the court makes an order that the information is not to be published pending trial, the purpose of the order is to protect the confidentiality of the information pending trial. A third party who, with knowledge of the order, publishes the information and thereby destroys its confidentiality will commit a contempt of court. The contempt is committed not because the third party is in breach of the order – the order does not bind the third party. The contempt is committed because the purpose of the judge in making the order is intentionally frustrated with the consequence that the conduct of the trial is disrupted."
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Kenneth Togher v Commissioners Of Customs and Excise [2001] EWCA Civ 474
5 Apr 2001
CA

Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]

 
 Petition To the Nobile Officium By the British Broadcasting Corporation; ScHC 2-May-2001 - [2001] ScotHC 23
 
H v H [2001] EWCA Civ 653
2 May 2001
CA

Children, Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Kirk v Spratley and Another [2001] EWCA Civ 689
10 May 2001
CA

Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Abouchitaa v El-Yamlahi [2001] EWCA Civ 811
16 May 2001
CA

Contempt of Court

1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Kirk v Spratley [2001] EWCA Civ 876
17 May 2001
CA

Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Harris v Harris; Harris v Attorney General Gazette, 19 July 2001; Times, 06 August 2001; [2001] 3 WLR 765; [2001] 2 FLR 895; [2002] Fam 253
21 May 2001
FD
Munby J
Contempt of Court, Family
The applicant had been committed for ten months for contempt, being in breach of family court injunctions. He applied to be released after two months on the basis that the unserved balance of the sentence be suspended. The court held that it had the power to do this, even in the absence of any direct authority. It should use its powers in such a way as to maximise compliance with court orders, and that could best be achieved in this way in this circumstance. It is important that the in a free society parents who feel aggrieved at their experiences of the family justice system should be able to express their views publicly about what they conceive to be failings on the part of individual judges or failings in the judicial system. "The freedom to publish things which judges might think should not be published is all the more important where the subject of what is being said is the judges themselves. Any judicial power to punish such publications requires the most cogent justification. Even more cogent must be the justification for giving the judges a power of prior restraint." and “a judge, although it may be that on occasions he can legitimately exercise the functions of an aedile, is no censor”.
Rules of the Supreme Court Order 52 rule 7(1)
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Admiral Scaffolding Group Ltd v Simms and others [2001] EWCA Civ 908
8 Jun 2001
CA

Litigation Practice, Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Practice Direction (Magistrates' Court: Contempt) Times, 11 June 2001
11 Jun 2001
QBD

Magistrates, Contempt of Court
Detailed guidance was given by the court as to the way in which magistrates should deal with persons refusing to give evidence, or otherwise behaving in a way which might be a contempt of court. They should cease to use their power to bind a defendant over. The magistrates should consider detention of the person until he could be dealt with without disrupting the court, but in any event progress should be made within the day. He must be offered legal aid and representation. In the event of a not guilty plea different magistrates should hear the case. The sentence should allow for time spent in custody, and be no more than was necessary.

 
Regina v Sherwood, ex parte The Telegraph Group plc and Others Times, 12 June 2001; Gazette, 12 July 2001; [2001] EWCA Crim 1075; [2001] 1 WLR 1983
12 Jun 2001
CACD

Contempt of Court, Media, Human Rights, Criminal Practice
When a court considered ordering a restriction on reporting of a case until after it was concluded, it had a three stage test to apply. First, would the reporting create a not insubstantial risk of prejudice. If there was no such risk, an order could not be made. Second, would an order reduce or remove the threat, and could the threat of harm be achieved by some lesser order. Only then could a court come to ask whether the degree of risk which might be run outweighed the competing duty to provide an open system of justice This was a case in which it had been necessary to order a split trial, and in addition to other factors the later trial may have been prejudiced by reporting of the first, and the order was properly made.
Contempt of Court Act 1981 4(2) - Criminal Justice Act 1988 159 - European Convention on Human Rights 6 10
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Abouchitaa v El-Yamlahi [2001] EWCA Civ 1024
20 Jun 2001
CA

Contempt of Court
The appeal court will not interfere with a factual finding in contempt proceedings, as in other proceedings, unless satisfied that it is wrong.
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]

 
 Noueiri v Paragon Finance Plc (Practice Note); CA 19-Sep-2001 - Times, 04 October 2001; Gazette, 18 October 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 1402; [2001] 1 WLR 2357; [2002] CP Rep 5; [2002] Fam Law 16; [2002] 1 Costs LR 12; [2001] NPC 138
 
Cheryl Little, (HMA v Anstruther) [2001] ScotSC 19
21 Sep 2001
ScSf

Scotland, Contempt of Court
An order was made against a witness for prevarication. The order was challenged on the basis that she had not had a fair trial, not having a hearing before an independent tribunal. The same judge had acted as witness prosecutor and judge and jury. The challenge was rejected. The judge acted as assessor, as judge only. All he has done is to condemn the evidence as being so unsatisfactory as to be worthy of contempt. The argument was repelled.
1 Cites

[ Bailii ] - [ ScotC ]
 
Her Majesty's Advocate v William Frederick Ian Beggs (Opinion No 2)
21 Sep 2001
HCJ
Lord Osborne
Scotland, Crime, Contempt of Court
The defendant complained that an article published on the Internet was a contempt of court in that it prejudiced his trial for murder by reference inter alia to previous proceedings against him. There were others also. The court was aksed whether the fact that at the time the documents were placed on the internet no charges had yet been brought excused their continued publication after charges had been brought. He;d: the court focused upon the sense of the word "publication", which was the action of making something publicly known, or the issuing to the public of some work, that is to say an event which takes place at some particular moment. The section used the phrase the 'time of publication'. "the situation affecting the Website may be compared with a situation in which a book or other printed material is continuously on sale and available to the public. During that whole period, I consider that it would be proper to conclude that that material was being published. " However given the context of the trial, the detailed evidence and counsel and the judge's guidance to a jury, it had not been shown that a fair trial was not possible.
Contempt of Court Act 1981
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ ScotC ]
 
C v C [2001] EWCA Civ 1625
25 Oct 2001
CA
Hale LJ, David Steel J
Contempt of Court, Family
The father appealed against a finding that he was in contempt of court in having breached a non-molestation order.
[ Bailii ]
 
Briffett v Director of Public Prosecutions; Bradshaw v Director of Public Prosecutions Times, 26 November 2001; [2002] EMLR 12
6 Nov 2001
QBD
Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Newman
Children, Media, Contempt of Court
A bare order restricting reporting under the section was too vague to allow a later prosecution for contempt. Crook had established that the court must specify just what restrictions are to apply.
Children and Young Persons Act 1933 39(1) 39(2)
1 Cites

1 Citers


 
Harris v Harris Times, 19 November 2001; Gazette, 10 January 2002; [2001] EWCA Civ 1645; [2002] Fam 253; [2002] 1 All ER 185; [2001] 3 FCR 640; [2002] Fam Law 93; [2002] 2 WLR 747; [2002] 1 FLR 248
8 Nov 2001
CA
Lord Justice Thorpe, Lord Justice Waller and Lord Justice Mantell
Contempt of Court, Family
On an application by a contemnor to be purged of his contempt, the judge could only answer 'Yes', 'No', or 'Not Yet.' It was not right to add further complexity to release the contemnor, but with some further part of his sentence suspended. The powers of the court in such applications need to be clear and simple.
1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
W v P [2001] EWCA Civ 1886
3 Dec 2001
CA
Thorpe, Laws LJJ
Family, Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
Attorney-General v Greater Manchester Newspapers Ltd Times, 07 December 2001; Gazette, 06 February 2002; [2001] EWHC QB 451; [2001] All ER (D) 32 (Dec)
4 Dec 2001
QBD
Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Division
Contempt of Court, Media
The defendant newspaper had published facts relating to the whereabouts of two youths protected by injunction against the publication of any information likely to lead to their location. The injunction was not ambiguous or unclear. 'Likely' did not mean statistical probability but a real chance that the information would put the lives at risk. Information which was not accessible to the general public was not in the public domain. To establish a contempt, the Attorney General had to establish to the criminal level of proof that the defendant knew of the injunction and its terms, that the information published was "likely to lead to the identification" of the past, present or future whereabouts of youths; and that the information was not already in the public domain.
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]

 
 Venables and Thompson v News Group International, Associated Newspapers Ltd, MGN Ltd; QBD 4-Dec-2001 - [2001] EWHC QB 452; [2001] EMLR 255; [2001] EWHC 530 (QB); [2001] All ER (D) 32
 
Robinson v Robinson [2001] EWCA Civ 2098
12 Dec 2001
CA
Ward, Robert Walker LJJ
Contempt of Court
H's appeal from ordee committing him to prson for breaches of matrimonial injunction.
[ Bailii ]
 
Jolly v HM Prison Wandsworth [2001] EWCA Civ 1999
14 Dec 2001
CA
Hale LJ
Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
McKnight v Northern [2001] EWCA Civ 2028
17 Dec 2001
CA

Family, Contempt of Court

[ Bailii ]
 
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