Civil Contempt: An Introduction to the Spring E-Bulletin Series
It is now over five years since Richard Shepherd of Albion Chambers was invited to re-write the LexisNexis® PSL content for civil contempt of court. Though Richard’s focus is on civil contempt, the vast majority of the principles apply to all fields, whether of a civil, crime or family leaning.
Over those five years the content has undergone many rewrites as the law has developed – it was tweaked to fit new and interesting ways that parties to civil proceedings find to put themselves in the crosshairs of courts’ displeasure.
The field is moving so quickly that LexisNexis® has also recruited Albion’s Alex West to provide expert commentary on new case law in this rapidly developing field. We’re grateful to our friends at LexisNexis® for allowing us to reproduce some of this content within these bulletins, minus LexisNexis® spangly, and very useful, interactivity. It is certainly worth signing up to the LexisNexis® PSL content for these added extras.
What’s New?
Well, everything… and nothing. The Civil Procedure Rules have been rewritten and came into force on 1 October 2020. The rules have been simplified, have been relabelled and terminology updated so the rules are fit for purpose for 21st Century litigation.
Over the past five years there have been hundreds and hundreds of judgments handed down and the pace of handing down of new judgments hasn’t slowed since the new rules were introduced.
In this series of e-bulletins Alex and Richard have selected the most cogent judgments, the neatest explanations of the law, the most useful illustrative examples, to make contempt of court more accessible and easier to apply for all practitioners.
What to Expect
Albion Chambers, in partnership with LexisNexis® will, over the coming 15 weeks, review 15 contempt ‘chapters’. Starting with the basics, the black-letter rules and what changes have been made, thereafter the e-bulletins will explore in greater detail the different flavours of contempt, and what the law requires for each. Richard and Alex will be highlighting the traps and pitfalls for the unwary, and also giving expert tips on how to get it right first time and every time. By the end of this series the practitioner will feel confident in embarking upon, or defending, contempt litigation.
You may want to create a ‘Contempt’ folder in your email inbox, to save these bulletins for future reference, so they’ll be available as and when you need them.
Publication Schedule
|
Week |
Chapter |
Publication Date |
|
1 |
An Introduction to the Spring e-bulletin Series |
16 March 2021 |
|
2 |
Legal framework |
23 March 2021 |
|
3 |
Summary of changes to committal proceedings (CPR 81) |
30 March 2021 |
|
4 |
Permission and Appropriate Forum |
6 April 2021 |
|
5 |
Making and Serving the Application |
13 April 2021 |
|
6 |
Evidence and the Hearing |
20 April 2021 |
|
7 |
Discontinuance, Defects, Waiver and Strike out |
27 April 2021 |
|
8 |
Contempt in the Face of the Court |
4 May 2021 |
|
9 |
Interference with the Administration of Justice |
11 May 2021 |
|
10 |
False Statements |
18 May 2021 |
|
11 |
Non-compliance with a Court Order or Undertaking |
25 May 2021 |
|
12 |
County Courts Act offences and High Court Certifications |
1 June 2021 |
|
13 |
Confiscation of Assets (‘writs of sequestration’) |
8 June 2021 |
|
14 |
Sentencing and Costs |
15 June 2021 |
|
15 |
Appeals, Purges and Discharge |
22 June 2021 |
