Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

committal definition

What does committal mean? In practice, committal refers either to transferring a case or defendant from one court to another, or to ordering a person’s detention in custody. England and Wales: formal committal for trial from the magistrates’ court has been replaced by sending for trial, but courts still commit for sentence where magistrates’ sentencing powers are insufficient, and may issue a warrant of committal to custody (for example, for contempt of court or certain enforcement failures). Northern Ireland: committal proceedings before a magistrates’ court remain the usual gateway to the Crown Court (testing whether there is a case to answer), alongside developing direct committal reforms. Scotland:...

Civil contempt under CPR 81: hearings in public or private, evidence and directions, adjournment, attendance and bench warrants, remote participation, right to silence, legal aid and interpreters (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

This Practice Note reviews the hearing of contempt proceedings under CPR 81 (also known as ‘Committal proceedings’), covering whether the court will sit in public or in private, the directions the court will give in advance of the hearing, the timing of the hearing, and the evidence to be placed before the court at the hearing. It also considers what happens if the defendant is absent from the hearing, the defendant’s right to silence, and the defendant’s entitlement to Legal aid, legal representation and/or an interpreter.

Hearing to be in public

The English judicial system proceeds from the fundamental principle of open justice, subject, on occasion, to permitted derogations. CPR 81.8(1) provides that: ‘all hearings of contempt proceedings shall, irrespective of the parties’ consent, be listed and heard in public unless the court otherwise directs.’ This mirrors the provisions set out in CPR 39.2, which states that the ‘general rule is that a hearing is to be in public’. For more on public and private hearings and restricted reporting, see Practice Note: Private hearings and restricted reporting in civil proceedings. This is especially important in contempt of court proceedings. As observed in EWQ v GFD (2013), ‘In contempt cases [the...

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Alexander West

Albion Chambers

Alexander West specialises in Matrimonial Finance, Regulatory Crime and Inquests.Having started his career with a City finance firm before moving to Linklaters LLP, Alexander now practices across the Western Circuit and beyond, undertaking a range of work across each of his areas of specialism. Alexander is a scholar of Middle Temple at GDL and BPTC level, and received the Sachs Award (top 5%) from City Law School for his results following the vocational element of his training. Alexander qualified as a mediator in 2010 and has since provided mediation training to barristers, solicitors and non-legal professionals, focusing on a facilitative approach to dispute resolution. Alexander is ranked by both Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500. ...

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