Contempt is defined generally to mean any act that
tends to bring the court to disrepute, scorn or disrespect.
Before we proceed we want to wish all Nigerian Law
School Students success in the next Phase of the Journey to Call to Bar; The
Court Placement.
TIPS
ON HOW TO FILL YOUR LOGBOOK
REMEMBER
THE MOTTO:
‘’The
Law school will not assist me not to participate in the externship program’’.
POSER:
What Would I be doing in the Court?
Answer: Observe, discuss and reflect on activities
in the Court.
THE
FILLING OF THE LOG BOOK
1. The
Court and the division
2. The
Time the court sat
3. The
name of the Judge
FURTHERMORE,
4. You should know the numbers of cases on the Cause List for the day, you can get that from the
Court Clerk at the end of the day, because you must state the full particulars
of the parties to the case you want to write on
5.
Kindly
note what the Counsel and the Judge said during the case
6.
Note
any argument in respect of what we have been taught in class
N.B: More than one case might called for hearing or
mention, if a particular case was more detailed and you understand it properly,
you can emphasis more on it.
REFLECTION,
7. What
transpired in the court vis a viz the teachings in law school.
8. From the cases you discussed, reflect on it with law school teachings.
N.B: DO NOT LIE!!!!!!
SO LET PROCEED TO CONTEMPT OF COURT
LEGAL
DEFINITION OF CONTEMPT: FRANKLIN ATEKE V. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
FEDERATION & ANOR. (SUPRA), Idigbe, JSC said in defining contempt
of Court:
“It
is indeed difficult to give exact definition of contempt of Court and this is
so because it is so manifold in its aspects but generally it may be described as any conduct which tends to bring into
disrespect, scorn, or disrepute to the law or which tends to interfere with and
or prejudice litigants and or witnesses in the course of litigation.”
FURTHERMORE, In A.G V MAGAZINE LTD contempt
was also defined as;
‘’An Interference with the administration of
Justice either in a particular case or more generally as a continuing process’’
POSER:
WHY SHOULD THE COURT PUNISH FOR CONTEMPT?
1. To
preserve the Honor of the court
2. To
prevent undue interference with the administration of justice
3. So
as not to disregard the power and dignity of the judge as an individual
SEE; PARASHURAM DETARAM SHAMDASANI
V KING EMPEROR
THE
TYPES OF CONTEMPT
1. Criminal
2. Civil
Contempt
CRIMINAL
CONTEMPT
Meaning:
This
consists of words or acts which obstruct
or tend
to obstruct or interfere with the administration of justice. For instance;
a) To
call a judge a liar or
b) To
allege that he is partial or
c) To
say in the course of the judgment “That is a most unjust remark”
CIVIL
CONTEMPT
Meaning:
This is contempt in procedure consisting of the disobedience to the Judge’s
orders and other processes of Court and may involve personal injury. For instance,
a) Where
a person is asked not to trespass on a property, if he does so, it is
disobedience to the Court’s order and the injury is done to the Court’s
integrity and private injury to the person concerned. See WOKOMA V WOKOMA
POSER:
WHAT ARE THE ACTS THAT WOULD AMOUNT TO CONTEMPT?
Imagine while the case is on and Sis Suzzy is busy
chewing gum in the court like the ‘’SISTERS OF THE NIGHT’’ or while Bro Dele and Bro Ade are busy
discussing how Barcelona demolished Real Madrid and Suddenly Bro Ade shouted
like the ‘’BROTHERS OF THE CAR PARK’’
Will
these acts amount to Contempt? Think about it……
TAKE
NOTE; It is not possible to particularize the act which
can and cannot constitute contempt. See
AGBACHOM V. STATE (1970) 1 ALL NLR 69 AND it is not every act of
discourtesy to the Court that amounts to contempt. See UZUORA V. R. 13 WACA 313.
TAKE
NOTE: A breach by counsel of his duty to his
client does not necessarily amount to contempt.
For example, if he fails to appear in Court on a hearing day. SEE IZUORA V QUEEN.
EXAMPLES
OF CRIMINAL CONTEMPT
1. Prejudicing
a Fair Trail (Sub-judice rule)
a) Making
any comment concerning the case which is capable of affecting the outcome of
the case one way or the other. R V GRIFFITHS
b) Every
private communication to a Judge on a matter before him, whether or not
accompanied by the offer of a bribe, amounts to contempt as tending to
interfere with the cause of Justice. AWOBOKUN
V. ADEYEMI;
c) Publication
in Newspaper misrepresenting court proceeding. See SECTION 133(4) CRIMINAL CODE
2. Scandalizing
The Court
a) Calling
a Judge a Liar
b) Alleging
that a Judge is partial
c) To
say in the course of the judgment “That is a most unjust remark”
d) A
letter accusing a Judge of Bias
3. Interrupting
Court Proceeding by Words or Conduct
a) Whistling
or Singing in the Court while the court is sitting
b) Talking
Loudly in Court
c) Chewing
gum loudly in court.
EXAMPLES
OF CIVIL CONTEMPT
N.B:
THIS IS ALSO KNOWN AS EITHER
a)
Non-Criminal Contempt or
b)
Contempt on Procedure
1) Willful
disobedience to Judgments or Court Orders
2) Impeding
Service of Court Process etc…..
POSER:
HOW CAN CONTEMPT BE COMMITTED?
1. In
Facie Curiae (In the face of the Court
2. Ex
Facie Curiae (Outside the court
PROCEDURE FOR
PUNISHMENT OF CONTEMPT
In AWOBOKUN V. ADEYEMI;
‘’ the contemnor phoned
the judge and the following morning, the judge asked her to show cause why she
should not be committed for contempt. The
Judge committed her for contempt and she appealed. She got away with the contempt on appeal
because the judge adopted a wrong procedure’’
So the question what is the RIGHT PROCEDURE?
N.B:
The Procedure will depend on how the Contempt was committed.
HOWEVER,
the question is HOW DO YOU PROVE A
CONTEMPT OF COURT?
STANDARD
OF PROOF: Proof beyond Reasonable Doubt.
WHY: Contempt is Quashi-Criminal Offense.
It is an established principle that it does not
matter whether contempt is Criminal or Civil the standard of Proof is beyond
reasonable doubt. SEE AWOBOKUN V ADEYEMI AND AMERICAN INT SECURITY &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS (NIG) LTD V ELUGENE PETERSON & ANOR
THE
PROCEDURE
Guiding
Rule: No Person shall be punished for Contempt
of Court which is a criminal offence unless the specific offence charged
against him is distinctly stated and an opportunity of answering it given to
him.
OBIEKWE ANIWETA V THE STATE
CRIMINAL
CONTEMPT
IN
FACIE CURIAE
The Court can deal summarily with cases of contempt
in the face of the Court and by the very judicial officer in whose presence the
offence was committed but in cases of contempt not committed in the face of the
Court, the Court has two options:
Option
One (SUMMARY TRAIL)
There may be cases where the offence could be dealt
with summarily but it must be in accordance with the cardinal
principles of fair hearing and the case must be one in which the facts
surrounding the alleged contempt are so notorious as to be virtually
incontestable. The Contemnor is given adequate opportunity to defend himself. If
the Contempt is proved, the Contemnor is convicted for contempt and sentenced.
Option
Two (FULL PROSECUTION)
The proper procedure is the whole process of
apprehension or arrest, charge, prosecution etc, in other words
a) The
Contemnor is arrested by the Police
b) A
charge will be drafted,
c) the
Contemnor is arraigned before another Judge not the Judge affected to take his
plea
d) He
is prosecuted in full criminal trail
e) Then,
the Judge will give a Judgment
In BOYO
V. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MIDWESTERN STATE (1971) 1 ALL NLR 342, the Supreme Court
advised that;
Judges must be very
careful in handling contempt cases because of the peculiar nature of the
offence. In a contempt case, the
contemnor is usually reduced to such a state of humility in fear of more stern
consequences that he is unable or willing to defend himself as he might
otherwise have done. It is for this
reason that the standard of proof required in contempt cases is ‘proof beyond
reasonable doubt.
IN
EX FACIE CURIAE
These are criminal contempt committed outside the
face of the court which is intended or likely to interfere or obstruct the
administration of Justice.
The case has to be referred to another judge and the
normal criminal procedure has to be followed.
See RE: DR. OLU ONAGORUWA (UNREPORTED) FCA/E/11779 of 5th February 1980.
Therefore,
the
option
two stated above will also be followed.
CIVIL
CONTEMPT
Generally, civil contempt are committed outside the
face of the court. Contempt Ex Facie Curiae.
The
Procedure
We have two options or ways available
Option
One
The Party affected by the contempt would do any of
the following;
a) File
a Motion to the court to have the Contemnor committed for contempt
b) The
motion is supported by Affidavit disclosing the grounds for the application
c) The
Motion will be heard; it is either granted or refused.
The party affected by the contempt may also do any
of the following;
a) File
and Serve on the Contemnor FORM 48 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules; Sheriff
and Civil Process Act
b) Attach
the enrolled order of court to it
c) If
he fails to comply with the order, FORM 49 would be served on the Contemnor
d) The
summon would be heard by the Court.
N.B: FORM
48: Notice of Consequences of Disobedience of Court Order
FORM 49: Summons to Show cause why
Contemnor should not be committed to prison for disobedience of court order
Option
Two
The court can Suo Motu make an Order of committal of
a person for civil Contempt
JURISDICTION OF COURT TO PUNISH FOR CONTEMPT
The High Court has inherent jurisdiction to punish
criminal contempt summarily but the power should be exercised with the greatest
caution. AWOBOKUN V ADEYEMI
TAKE
NOTE;
The inherent power to fine and imprison for contempt
is not retained for the personal aggrandizement of a judge or whoever mans the
Court.The powers are created, maintained, and retained for the purpose of
preserving the dignity or honour of the Courts.
See Section 133 of the Criminal Code.
Section 133(4) of the Criminal Code provides thus:
“Any
person who while a judicial proceeding is pending makes use of any speech or
writing misrepresenting such proceedings or capable of prejudicing any person
in favour of or against any party to such proceedings or calculated to lower
the authority of any person before whom such proceedings is being heard or
taken.”
FURTHERMORE,
Section
6 of the Criminal Code and it provides:
“Nothing
in this law or in the Code shall affect the authority of the Courts of record
to punish a person summarily for the offence commonly known as contempt of
Courts.”
PUNISHMENT
FOR CONTEMPT
GUIDING
RULE: A
charge of Contempt is a very serious offence and in the spirit of protecting
our Temple of Justice and not to bolster up the power and dignity of the judge
as an individual. Any acts or conducts which tends to invade these concepts
should be frown at and dealt with in a good time as well.
THE
PUNISHMENT
1. The
Courts will pardon a contemnor whose conduct is unintentional and who purges
his contempt by a sincere apology and credible explanation. OR his
act is from a mistaken belief or misconception of the laws thereby flouting a
court’s order. SEE THE STATE HON JUSTICE A.A.M
EKUNDAYO & ANOR
2. Contempt
committed in Under Section 133 of the Criminal Code carries a maximum sentence
of three months. See OKOMA V. UDOH (2002) 1 NWLR (PT.
748) 438
3. For civil contempt, the punishment
permissible by law is six months. See AFE
BABALOLA V. FEDECO
4. The
Court also has the power to order that a contemnor be kept in custody till he
purges himself of the contempt. See
ATEKE’s case.
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