We act for clients accused of offences interfering with the administration of justice: contempt of court and perverting the course of justice.

We have acted for clients in the magistrates’ courts through to the Court of Appeal.
Administration of justice offences can be very serious and it is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible if you are facing criminal investigation or proceedings.

Criminal Contempt of Court

There are two types of contempt of court: criminal and civil. 

A criminal contempt is conduct which goes beyond mere non-compliance with a court order and involves a serious interference with the administration of justice: Director of the Serious Fraud Office v B [2014] A.C. 1246.

The case of Robertson and Gough [2007] HCJAC 63 described contempt of court as “conduct that denotes wilful defiance of, or disrespect towards, the court or that wilfully challenges or affronts the authority of the court or the supremacy of the law itself”. 

The offence is categorised as behaviour which jeopardises the administration of justice. 
Examples of criminal contempt are:

• Failing to answer questions in court
• Physically interfering with a trial
• Threatening witnesses and conduct obstructing or calculated to prejudice the due administration of justice. The conduct can arise before, during or after criminal proceedings at either the crown court or the magistrates' court, or in the course of any civil proceedings
• Disobeying or ignoring a court order 
• Publicly commenting on an ongoing court case, such as on social media or online news articles, without permission
• Taking photographs or videos in a courtroom without permission 
• Making or publishing an audio recording of court proceedings without permission
• To be guilty of such an offence a person has to have intended to jeopardise the administration of justice, even if the act did not ultimately interfere with the administration of justice. 

Click here to learn more about civil contempt of court. 

Perverting the Course of Justice

• This offence is sometimes referred to as “attempting to pervert the course of justice”. 
  It is immaterial as to whether or not a person is successful in perverting the course of justice. The offence is committed when acts tending and intended to pervert a course of justice are done, such that an attempt is sufficient. 
  Perverting the course of justice is committed when a person:Does an act or series of acts  
• Which has or have a tendency to pervert, and 
• Which is or are intended to pervert
• The course of public justice

The course of justice must be in existence at the time of the act(s). The course of justice starts when:

• An event has occurred, from which it can reasonably be expected that an investigation will follow; or 
• Investigations which could/might bring proceedings have actually started; or 
• Proceedings have started or are about to start.

The course of justice refers to civil justice as well criminal justice.

Some examples of what may amount to a charge of perverting the course of justice include:

• Causing a person to be wrongly arrested or to fall under false suspicion
• Materially affecting proceedings e.g. obtaining bail when it might not have been obtained, receiving a sentence which might not otherwise have been passed
• Persuading, or attempting to persuade, by intimidation, harm or otherwise, a witness not to give evidence, to alter their evidence or to give false evidence
• Interference with jurors with a view to influencing their verdict
• Providing a false alibi
• Interference with, concealing or destroying evidence or exhibits
• Giving false information, or agreeing to give false information, to the police with a view to frustrating a police inquiry; for example, lying as to who was driving when a road traffic incident occurred
• Lending a driving licence to another to produce to the police following a notice to produce, thereby avoiding an offence of driving whilst disqualified being discovered
• Agreeing to give false evidence
• Assisting others to evade arrest for a significant period of time

How we can help

We can represent you wherever you are based, whether it be in the UK or overseas. We support our clients through every stage of the criminal justice process, including:

• Representation at interviews
• Pre-charge engagement to prevent charges being brought against you
• Magistrates court proceedings
• Crown court proceedings
• Court of Appeal

For more information on any of the above click here, or if you have been requested to attend an interview or have notification of court proceedings, please contact us today.