Contempt of court—Committal—Family proceeding

Family Division, Sir Nicholas Wall P, 22 August 2011

In ordering the defendant’s committal, the High Court has reiterated the factors necessary for a finding of contempt of court.

The underlying action concerned care proceedings instituted by the local authority in relation to a child (X), aged seven. The local authority shared parental responsibility for the child with her parents, pursuant to s 33 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). In February 2011, the High Court imposed a standard reporting restriction order, prohibiting the publication of certain information relating to X.

The defendant (W) described herself as the chief executive officer of an organisation called “Discoveries International Ltd” and a “private case investigator”. She had no legal qualification. She was named in the reporting restriction order along with H, the child’s mother. After the service of the order on her, she returned the documents with remarks scribbled across them, such as “void”, “no jurisdiction”, “contempt