Contempt of court

The court did not lack jurisdiction, whether under s 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 or under its own inherent jurisdiction, to do what was just and convenient, and necessary, to protect its own orders and to give effect to the interests of justice. It was not beyond the powers of the court, under its contempt of court jurisdiction, to order the imprisonment of a litigant found to have been in contempt. That was the power that encroached on the liberty of the subject. It was a power held as part of the armoury of the court to ensure that justice could be done in civil litigation.