Law digests: 16 June 2023

Contempt

Ellis v His Majesty’s Solicitor General [2023] EWCA Civ 585, [2023] All ER (D) 04 (Jun)

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appellant’s appeal from a decision of a judge finding the appellant in contempt of court for breach of a general civil restraint order (GCRO) and sentencing him to 12 months’ imprisonment. The appellant was an ex-solicitor. He was apparently convinced that politicians, judges, the government, and the Ministry of Justice, together with all those who worked for them, were corrupt and that their decisions were, without exception, fraudulent. The appellant had acted and continued to act upon these beliefs. His modus operandi was to recruit innocent litigants, some with grievances against the justice system, some desperate for any help no matter the source, and others just bewildered by a process that they did not understand. The court found he was in contempt to the criminal standard and that the sentence imposed was proportionate. The appellant’s culpability was high. He had known what he was doing. He