Title: Reforming the Law of Contempt of Court

Speaker: Professor Penney Lewis, Commissioner for Criminal Law, Law Commission

'Contempt of court' refers to a wide variety of conduct that may impede or interfere with the administration of justice – for example, taking photographs in a courtroom, making an audio recording of proceedings or assaulting court staff or witnesses. It may also be committed by conduct that occurs elsewhere – for instance, by breaching a court order (such as an order not to move assets out of the jurisdiction) or by journalists, bloggers or members of the public publishing material that risks prejudicing a trial. Contempt is not a criminal offence – but the sanctions that may follow include imprisonment for up to two years and unlimited fines. The Law Commission has recently consulted on provisional proposals for reform of the law of contempt with the aim of clarifying and improving its fairness, consistency, coherence, and effectiveness. In this lecture, the Criminal Law Commissioner will explain those proposals and some of the issues that emerged during the public consultation."

Followed by Q&A

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Book/Cancel by: 24/02/2025