Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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 England and Wales: formal committal for trial from the magistrates’ court has been replaced by sending for trial, but courts still commit for sentence where magistrates’ sentencing powers are insufficient, and may issue a warrant of committal to custody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:...

Contempt in the face of the court—summary committal under CPR 81 (pre‑1 October 2020): safeguards, remand limits, bias/recusal and jurisdiction (England and Wales) [Archived]

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Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer updated and is not maintained. It is kept solely for historical Reference and context as it addresses CPR 81 as it stood before 1 October 2020, and Practice Direction 81, which was wholly revoked with effect from 1 October 2020.

If you are handling a committal application after 1 October 2020, you must instead consult CPR 81 currently in force and the relevant Practice Notes that relate to it and apply; see: Contempt and committal—overview. For the pre‑1 October 2020 iteration of CPR 81 or Practice Direction 81, see:

This Practice Note explores when Committal proceedings may properly be initiated where contempt occurs in the face of the court, in practice. In other words, the contempt must take place directly in the court’s presence. This category of contempt is among the few that the court can address itself alone without any further application or permission being required. Accordingly, while reviewing Practice Note: Committal proceedings—applications, evidence and hearings [Archived] may still be helpful, the procedural steps set out there are of comparatively reduced significance.

Committal for contempt in the face of the court—relevant factors

Contempt in the face of the court can...

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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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