Editing Contempt of court (section)

===England and Wales===
In [[Law of England and Wales|England and Wales]] (a [[common law]] jurisdiction), the law on contempt is partly set out in case law (common law), and partly codified by the [[Contempt of Court Act 1981]]. Contempt may be classified as ''criminal'' or ''civil''. The maximum penalty for criminal contempt under the 1981 Act is committal to prison for two years.

Disorderly, contemptuous or insolent behaviour toward the judge or magistrates while holding the court, tending to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding, may be prosecuted as "direct" contempt. The term "direct" means that the court itself cites the person in contempt by describing the behaviour observed on the record. Direct contempt is distinctly different from indirect contempt, wherein another individual may file papers alleging contempt against a person who has willfully violated a lawful court order.

There are limits to the powers of contempt created by rulings of [[European Court of Human Rights]]. Reporting on contempt of court, the [[Law Commission]] commented that "punishment of an advocate for what he or she says in court, whether a criticism of  the  judge  or  a  prosecutor,  amounts  to  an  interference  with  his  or  her  rights  under article 10 of the ECHR"  and that such limits must be "prescribed by law" and be "[[necessary in a democratic society]]",<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/app/uploads/2015/03/cp209_contempt_of_court.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809072241/http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/app/uploads/2015/03/cp209_contempt_of_court.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-09 |url-status=live| title=CONTEMPT OF COURT A Consultation Paper }}</ref> citing Nikula v Finland.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2002/324.html | title=Nikula v Finland}}</ref>

====Criminal contempt====
The [[Crown Court]] is a [[superior court]] according to the [[Senior Courts Act 1981]], and Crown Courts have the power to punish contempt. The [[Divisional Court (England and Wales)|Divisional Court]] as part of the [[High Court of England and Wales|High Court]] has ruled that this power can apply in these three circumstances:

# Contempt "in the face of the court" (not to be taken literally; the judge does not need to see it, provided it took place within the court precincts or relates to a case currently before that court);
# Disobedience of a court order; and
# Breaches of undertakings to the court.

Where it is necessary to act quickly, a judge may act to impose committal (to prison) for contempt.

Where it is not necessary to be so urgent, or where indirect contempt has taken place the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] can intervene and the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] will institute criminal proceedings on his behalf before a Divisional Court of the [[King's Bench Division]] of the [[High Court of Justice of England and Wales]]. For example, in January 2012, Theodora Dallas, a [[jury|juror]] who had researched information on the internet was jailed for contempt of court. Initially [[internet search|searching]] for the meaning of the term "[[grievous bodily harm]]", she added search criteria which localised her search and brought to light another charge against the defendant. Because she then shared this information with the other jurors, the judge stated that she had compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial and the prosecution was abandoned.<ref>Bowcott, O., [https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jan/23/juror-contempt-court-online-research Juror jailed over online research], ''The Guardian'', published 23 January 2012, accessed 21 November 2023</ref>

[[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|Magistrates' court]]s also have powers under the 1981 Act to order to detain any person who "insults the court" or otherwise disrupts its proceedings until the end of the sitting. Upon contempt being admitted or proved the (invariably) [[Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges|District Judge]] (sitting as a [[Magistrate (England and Wales)|magistrate]]) may order committal to prison for a maximum of one month, impose a fine of up to £2,500, or both.

It will be contempt to bring an audio recording device or picture-taking device of any sort into an English court without the consent of the court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/contempt-court-reporting-restrictions-and-restrictions-public-access-hearings|title=Contempt of Court, Reporting Restrictions and Restrictions on Public Access to Hearings|website=www.cps.gov.uk|date=2018-05-11|access-date=2019-07-08}}</ref>

It will not be contempt according to section 10 of the Act for a [[journalist]] to refuse to disclose his sources, unless the court has considered the evidence available and determined that the information is "necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime".

====Strict liability contempt====
Under the Contempt of Court Act it is criminal contempt to publish anything which creates a real risk that the course of justice in proceedings may be seriously impaired. It only applies where proceedings are active, and the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] has issued guidance as to when he believes this to be the case, and there is also statutory guidance. The clause prevents the newspapers and media from publishing material that is too extreme or sensationalist about a criminal case until the trial or linked trials are over and the juries have given their verdicts.

Section 2 of the Act defines and limits the previous [[common law]] definition of contempt (which was previously based upon a presumption that any conduct could be treated as contempt, regardless of intent), to only instances where there can be proved an intent to cause a substantial risk of serious prejudice to the administration of justice (i.e./e.g., the conduct of a trial).

====Civil contempt====
In civil proceedings there are two main ways in which contempt is committed:

# Failure to attend at court despite a [[summons#Civil summons|summons]] requiring attendance. In respect of the High Court, historically a [[Latitat|writ of latitat]] would have been issued, but now a [[bench warrant]] is issued, authorizing the [[tipstaff]] to arrange for the arrest of the individual, and imprisonment until the date and time the court appoints to next sit. In practice a groveling letter of apology to the court is sufficient to ward off this possibility, and in any event the warrant is generally "backed for bail"—i.e., [[bail]] will be granted once the arrest has been made and a location where the person can be found in future established.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Londono |first1=Patricia |title=Arlidge, Eady & Smith on Contempt |last2=Eady |first2=David |last3=Smith |first3=A.T.H. |last4=Mackay |first4=Ronald |author-link4=Ronald Mackay, Lord Eassie |year=2019 |publisher=Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia. |isbn=9780414074507 |edition=5th |at=11-111}}</ref>
# Failure to comply with a court order. A copy of the order, with a "penal notice"—i.e., notice informing the recipient that if they do not comply they are subject to imprisonment—is served on the person concerned. If, after that, they breach the order, proceedings can be started and in theory the person involved can be sent to prison. In practice this rarely happens as the cost on the claimant of bringing these proceedings is significant and in practice imprisonment is rarely ordered as an apology or fine are usually considered appropriate.