Sentencing for Contempt of Court

His Honour Judge John Platt

Much confusion surrounds the practical effects of a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a young offender institution for those who are in contempt of court in family or civil cases. The purpose of this article is to set out the statutory regime which applies to such sentences and to look at the recent authorities.

By s 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 any person serving a sentence for contempt was a short-term prisoner and entitled to be released after serving one half of the term imposed unconditionally if his sentence was less than 12 months and on licence if the term was 12 months or more. Section 45(1) of the 1991 Act applied those provisions to persons committed to prison or detained for contempt of court. From 5 April 2005 those provisions were repealed by Sch 37 Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and replaced by s 258 of that Act so far as they relate to contemnors. Under s 258 the Secretary of State must now release a contemnor unconditionally once he has served one half...

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