The former husband appealed an order for his committal to prison on a judgment summons in default of clearing arrears of maintenance payments. He said that the proceedings were criminal in nature and offended his rights to a fair trial under the Convention, in that evidence had been taken at less than criminal standards.
Held: The article 6 rights ‘are, of course, important rights, but they are not to be elevated so as to subvert the enforcement process upon which the judgment creditor is entitled to rely. ‘ The appeal failed: ‘The overwhelming reality is that an obligation was established by a consent order which remains on foot. There has been no subsequent application for its downward variation. The amount of the arrears that have accrued is not in issue.’
Judges:
Thorpe, Richards LJJ
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Civ 1764
Links:
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 6
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Mubarak v Mubarak CA 2001
A judgment summons, issued was issued by the wife to enforce a lump sum order made against her husband in their divorce proceedings. The judge had performed his statutory duty which included having to satisfy himself under s. 25 of the 1973 Act of . .
Cited – Ellis v Ellis CA 24-Jun-2005
The defendant appealed a suspended committal order in respect of his failure to pay maintenance. The husband had unilaterally reduced payments at the same time as withdrawing his application to vary the order.
Held: The defendant simply piled . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family, Contempt of Court, Human Rights
Updated: 05 July 2022; Ref: scu.239232