Turks and Caicos, December 3, 2024

CONTEMPT OF COURT RULES 2024 

(Legal Notice 61 of 2024) MADE by the Chief Justice under section 4 of the Chief Justice (Responsibilities) Ordinance, with the approval of the President of the Court of Appeal.

These Rules may be cited as the Contempt of Court Rules 2024 and shall come into operation on 2 December 2024.

In these Rules— “contempt of Court” means any conduct, whether committed in the face of the Court or not, that substantially obstructs or interferes or prejudices, tends to substantially obstruct or interfere or prejudice, the administration of justice in any proceeding pending before the Court, or brings the administration of justice into disrepute; “Court” means the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court; “publication” includes any speech, writing, broadcast, or other communication in whatever form which is addressed to the public at large or to any section of the public; and “publish” means to make available to the public or any section of the public, any information whether orally, by print or electronic means or otherwise.

Outline of contempt of Court – The following shall constitute contempt of Court— 

(a) disobedience of court orders;

(b) interference with Court Proceedings and unauthorised recording; and

(c) prejudicial publications.

Disobedience of court orders – It shall be a contempt of Court— 

(a) to willfully disobey or disregard, any judgment, decree, direction or order of a Court; or

(b) to willfully breach an undertaking given to a Court. Interference with Court proceedings and unauthorised recording

It shall be a contempt of Court— 

(a) to use in Court, or bring into Court for use, any tape recorder or other instrument for recording sound and or images, except with the leave of the Court;

(b) to publish a recording of legal proceedings made by means of any such instrument, or any recording derived directly or indirectly from it, by playing it in the hearing and sight of the public or any section of the public, or to dispose of it or any recording so derived, with a view to such publication;

(c) to use any such recording in contravention of any conditions of leave granted under paragraph (a); or

(d) to obtain or attempt to obtain or disclose any statement made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast by members of the jury in the course of their deliberations in any criminal proceedings.

Prejudicial publications 6 – It shall be a contempt of Court— 

(a) to publish any matter which creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded, affected, or prejudiced; or

(b) to publish any matter to the public at large or any section of the public that may interfere or tend to interfere with the course of justice in particular legal proceedings regardless of the intent to do so, save where at the time of such publication such a person did not know, or did not have any reasonable grounds for suspecting that the relevant proceedings were pending before the Court.

(2) A person shall not be guilty of or punishable for contempt of Court for the distribution of a publication which would otherwise be contempt of court, if at the time of distribution, he did not know, or did not have any reasonable grounds for suspecting that the publication contained, or was likely to contain any matter which amounts to contempt of Court.

(3) A person is not guilty of contempt of Court if he distributes a publication containing any matter pending before the Court, if at the time of distribution, having taken all reasonable care, he does not know that it contains such matter and has no reason to suspect that it is likely to do so.

(4) The burden of proof of any fact tending to establish a defence under subrule (2) or (3) lies upon the person who so asserts, on a balance of the probabilities.

(5) A person is not guilty of contempt of Court for refusing to disclose the source of information contained in a publication for which he is responsible, unless it be established to the satisfaction of the Court that disclosure is necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime.

 Ex facie curiae 

A person shall be guilty of the offence of contempt of court in the face of the court for any of the following—

(a) any insult or disrespect offered to a Court;

(b) the interruption of proceedings pending before a Court;

(c) the use of abusive or threatening language;

(d) the use of violence or threatening the use of violence;

(e) any act calculated to scandalize or lower the authority of a Court;

(f) failure to attend Court without good and sufficient reason; or

(g) any other act or conduct that disrupts the due course of any proceedings before a Court.

 Mode of trial  

(1) Contempt of Court may be tried upon indictment or dealt with summarily by the Supreme Court.

(2) Unless the Court decides to try the alleged contemnor summarily, the Director of Prosecutions must be notified of every referral to the Supreme Court for committal proceedings, for his action. Summary procedure for committal

(1) A Court dealing with an allegation of contempt of Court shall try an alleged contemnor summarily only where it is satisfied that such a course will preserve the integrity of the trial or the dignity of the court.

 (2) Where it is alleged, or appears to the Court on its own view, that a person is guilty of contempt of Court in— 

(a) the disobedience of a court order;

(b) through prejudicial publication;

(c) contemptuous conduct displayed in the face of the Court,

(d) contemptuous conduct done in the hearing of the Court, the Court may— (i) by oral order direct that the contemnor be brought before the Court; or (ii) issue a warrant for the arrest of the contemnor.

 (3) Where the contemnor is brought before the Court, the Court shall— 

(a) cause the contemnor to be informed orally of the contempt with which he or she is charged, and be allowed reasonable time to obtain legal representation and advice;

(b) require the contemnor to enter a plea and make his defence to the charge;

(c) after hearing the contemnor, determine the matter; and

(d) make an order for the punishment or discharge of the contemnor.

 (4) The Court may, pending disposal of the charge— 

(a) direct that the contemnor be kept in custody as the Court may determine; or

(b) direct that the contemnor be released, and such a direction is sufficient authority for the contemnor to be kept in custody or released, as the case may be. 5 Punishment

(1) A person who commits a contempt of Court shall be guilty of an offence, and is punishable by a term of imprisonment or a fine.

(2) The committal shall, without prejudice to the power of the Court to order his earlier discharge, be for a fixed term not exceeding two years.

(3) Where a court imposes a fine for the punishment of contempt of Court, the Court shall order that the fine be paid within a definit

Judge’s court wig and hammer or gavel

e time, but no less than seven days, after the date of the order.

(4) The payment of a fine imposed as punishment for a contempt of Court shall be enforced upon the order of the Court as if the order were a judgment or order for the payment of money. (5) The Court may in addition to any sanction it may impose, order any instrument used in unauthorised recording, or any such recording made with it, or both, to be forfeited, and any instrument or recording so forfeited shall be disposed of or dealt with in such manner as the Court may direct subject to the owners right to be heard as to reason why such instrument or recording shall not be forfeited.

(6) Where the contemnor is a company, and the contempt is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance, or is attributable to the reckless conduct or act on the part of, any director, manager of or any other person in charge of or responsible for the conduct of the business of the company, that person shall also be deemed to be guilty of contempt of Court. (7) In pursuance of subrule (6), a person shall not be deemed to be guilty of contempt of Court if he proves that the contempt was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.

(8) At all times and in all circumstances, it shall be open to the Court to require an apology or, a retraction from a contemnor without recording a conviction.

(9) The Court may also issue a reprimand or a warning, and the disregard of the reprimand or warning may lead to an imposition of a fine or a term of imprisonment.

MADE this 21st day of November 2024.