header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
03 December 2020 / Charles Kimmins KC , Andrew Dinsmore
Issue: 7913 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail

CPR Pt 81: the new contempt of court roadmap

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
33613
Charles Kimmins QC & Andrew Dinsmore provide an overview of the changes to the contempt of court procedure ushered in by the new CPR Pt 81
  • The new CPR Pt 81 has overhauled the procedure for contempt of court for all applications on foot or commenced after 1 October 2020.
  • CPR Pt 81 does not change the substantive law in relation to jurisdiction for contempt of court.

The procedures for contempt of court applications were overhauled by the new CPR Pt 81 on 1 October 2020, which revoked the old CPR Pt 81 without any transitional measures pursuant to Civil Procedure (Amendment No 3) Rules 2020, (SI 2020/747), rules 1, 3 and 15. The latter states: ‘For Part 81 substitute Part 81 as set out in the Schedule to these Rules’. The Schedule contains the new CPR Pt 81 without reference to the old rules.

The UK explanatory notes state that: ‘The new Part 81 reduces the number of rules from

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll