Lord Thomas LCJ has issued new practice guidance to answer various questions that have arisen on the application and interpretation of the
Practice Direction: Committal for Contempt - Open Court, dated 26 March 2015 (the Committal PD).
It covers such issues as:
- Press Notification - Hearings;
- Application of paragraph 13 (judgments);
- Application to proceedings under CPR r 71 and CCR Ord 27 and FPR rr 33.19, 33.19A and 33.23; and
- Applications to proceedings under the Policing and Crime Act 2009 and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
The practice guidance also includes a judgment pro forma (to be sent to the national media, via the CopyDirect service, and to the Judicial Office) for instances where it is not the usual practice of a court to give reasoned judgments.
The Committal Practice Direction will be reviewed in October 2015.
Click here to view the new guidance.
