Calling time on Scandalising the Court – Law Commission
“The Law Commission is recommending that the offence of scandalising the court should be abolished and not replaced.”
Law Commission, 19th December 2012
Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk
Category: contempt of court
JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov (No 8) – WLR Daily
JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov (No 8) [2012] EWCA Civ 1551; [2012] WLR (D) 366
“Where a judge had heard pretrial evidence on an application for committal or in litigation commencing with a freezing order in the nature of cross-examination of a principal litigant or important potential witness and had come to some conclusions about it, he was judging the matter before him, as he was required by his office to do. If he did so fairly and judicially no fair-minded and informed observer would consider that there was any possibility of apparent bias.”
WLR Daily, 28th November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Contempt of court law consultation highlights need for social media audit in businesses, says expert – OUT-LAW.com
“Businesses should analyse their social media strategies to ensure that they have accounted for the possibility that comments employees make in blogs and on social networks such as Twitter may become subject to a contempt of court action, an expert has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 29th November 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Balancing freedom of the press with the right to a fair trial – Law Commission
“In a consultation opening today the Law Commission is asking whether the existing law on contempt of court continues to work effectively in light of the challenges posed by new media and the way these are used by the mainstream press and, increasingly, by citizen journalists.”
Law Commission, 28th November 2012
Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk
Law Commission floats plans to stop jurors researching cases online – The Guardian
“Jurors who conduct online research on cases they are trying may need to be prosecuted under a new criminal offence, the Law Commission proposes in a consultation.”
The Guardian, 28th November 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Does the internet mean game over for contempt of court? – The Guardian
“It is easy to argue that social media render the contempt laws unworkable. The challenge is to make current restrictions work.”
The Guardian, 28th November 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
UK Tour Report #13: Social media and the employment law implications with Sean Jones QC – Charon QC
“Today, I am talking with Sean Jones QC of 11 KBW, a leading employment and public law set. We look at the employment law implications for use of social media in some depth and discuss the important case of Smith v Trafford Housing Trust [2012] EWHC 3221 (Ch).
We then move on to discuss practice at the Bar, the immediate to medium term prospects for barristers and Sean Jones QC provides some advice for prospective barristers.”
Charon QC, 27th November 2012
Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com
“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.
In re Press Association – WLR Daily
In re Press Association [2012] EWCA Crim 2434; [2012] WLR (D) 343
“The court did not have the power under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 nor under section 1(2) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 to make an order anonymising the name of a defendant. It was for those responsible for decisions relating to publication to ensure that the provisions which protected the public identification of a complainant in sexual cases were obeyed and they did so, not because there were enjoined to do so by judicial order, but because it was a statutory requirement.”
WLR Daily, 21st November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Father jailed after refusing to move from his own land – Daily Telegraph
“A working father who refused to leave his family-owned land in the ‘millionaires’ row’ of a picturesque village while he sought permission for a £32,000 eco-house has been jailed.”
Daily Telegraph, 23rd November 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov – WLR Daily
JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov: [2012] EWCA Civ 1411; [2012] WLR (D) 308
“The court had jurisdiction to make an order barring a defendant, who had absconded following his committal for contempt, from defending the claims against him unless within a stated period he both surrendered to custody and made proper disclosure of all his assets and dealings with them.”
WLR Daily, 6th November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Juror jailed for discussing trial with defendants – Attorney General’s Office
“Judges at the High Court today jailed a juror for four months for contempt of court, after he admitted discussing the trial with two of the defendants while it was still ongoing.”
Attorney General’s Office, 8th November 2012
Source: www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk
Levi Bellfield contempt fine for Daily Mail and Daily Mirror – BBC News
“Two national newspapers found guilty of contempt of court over their coverage of Levi Bellfield’s conviction for the murder of Milly Dowler have been fined.”
BBC News, 22nd October 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Judge imposes reporting restrictions in Dale Cregan case – The Guardian
“Court makes order postponing reports under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 due to ‘very real risk of prejudice’.”
The Guardian, 24th September 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Judge issues warning over Dale Cregan trial – The Independent
“A senior judge has issued a warning to police, press and politicians as alleged killer Dale Cregan appeared for the first time at Crown Court.”
The Independent, 24th September 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Police shootings prove contempt laws are not fit for purpose – The Guardian
“Watching the press conference by Greater Manchester Police, I was not the only journalist to remark that it looked and sounded more like one held by police in the USA where contempt laws hold no sway in the run-up to a trial. Here, as soon as someone is arrested, no one should publish anything which might cause a substantial risk of serious prejudice or serious impediment to the proceedings that might take place.”
The Guardian, 20th September 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Is it still possible to scandalise the court? – Law Commission
“In a consultation opening today, the Law Commission is asking whether the offence of scandalising the court is still necessary or should be consigned to history.”
Law Commission, 10th August 2012
Jail for man who claimed for ‘pothole’ injury after breaking ankle in drunken leap – Daily Telegraph
“A man who tried to claim £100,000 in compensation after breaking his ankle in a pothole was in fact injured after jumping off a wall when drunk, a court has heard.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th August 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Levi Bellfield newspaper articles were in contempt of court – UK Human Rights Blog
“HM Attorney General v Associated Newspapers Ltd & Anor [2012] EWHC 2029 (Admin) (18 July 2012). The Divisional Court ruled that reports of Levi Bellfield in the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, published while a jury was considering his charge of attempted kidnapping, were in contempt of court.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th July 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Attorney General welcomes Bellfield contempt judgment – Attorney General’s Office
“Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd and Associated Newspapers Ltd have today been found guilty of contempt of court for publishing potentially prejudicial material whilst the jury was considering its verdict in relation to Rachel Cowles’ alleged abduction by Levi Bellfield.”
Attorney General’s Office, 18th July 2012
Source: www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk
Newspapers guilty of contempt in Levi Bellfield case – BBC News
“Two national newspapers have been found guilty of contempt of court over their coverage of Levi Bellfield’s conviction for the murder of Milly Dowler.”
BBC News, 18th July 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
