The applicants had been engaged in a calculated and coordinated campaign of disruption of the court.
Held: ‘The archaic description of these proceedings as ‘contempt of court’ is in my view unfortunate and misleading. It suggests that they are designed to buttress the dignity of the judges and to protect them from insult. Nothing could be further from the truth. No such protection is needed. The sole purpose of proceedings for contempt is to give our courts the power effectively to protect the rights of the public by ensuring that the administration of justice shall not be obstructed or prevented: Skipworth’s Case, L.R. 9 Q.B. 230 and Rex v Davies [1906] 1 KB 32. This power to commit for what is inappropriately called ‘contempt of court’ is sui generis and has from time immemorial reposed in the judge for the protection of the public.’
Young people are no ordinary criminals: ‘There is no violence, dishonesty or vice in them. They were trying to preserve the Welsh language. Though they have done wrong but must we show mercy on them and they were permitted to go back to their studies, to their parents and continue the good course.’
Lord Denning said: ‘of all the places where law and order must be maintained, it is here in these courts. The course of justice must not be deflected or interfered with. Those who strike at it, strike at the very foundations of our society.’
Judges:
Salmon, Denning LJJ
Citations:
[1970] 2 QB 114, [1970] 1 All ER 1079
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Skipworth’s Case, Onslow v Skipworth; Regina v Castro 1873
The Attorney-General proceeded against the respondent for contempt, at the request of the Court, and ‘as the representative of the profession’. A contempt may be severe where an insult is offered in court to the judge who presides, or where a . .
Cited – Rex v Davies 1906
The sole purpose of proceedings for contempt is to give our courts the power effectively to protect the rights of the public by ensuring that the administration of justice shall not be obstructed or prevented . .
Cited by:
Cited – HM Solicitor General v Cox and Another QBD 27-May-2016
Applications for committal of the defendants for having taken photographs of court proceedings when their friend was being sentenced for murder and publishing them on Facebook. The SG urged that the offences had aggravating features taking the . .
Cited – Re West CACD 17-Jul-2014
W, a barrister, appealed against a conviction for contempt of court. He had declined to comply with the directions asked of him by the judge at a pre-trial hearing, saying that the client’s instructions that he was not guilty were sufficient. He was . .
Cited – HM Attorney General v Yaxley-Lennon QBD 9-Jul-2019
Application by Her Majesty’s Attorney General for an order committing the respondent to prison for contempt of court. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contempt of Court, Children
Updated: 21 July 2022; Ref: scu.564992