Contempt

Contempt enforces court orders. The classification determines the procedure required.

Civil contempt is coercive or compensatory. The contemnor holds the keys to their own release — a daily fine or confinement until compliance — or pays the other party’s loss. It requires clear and convincing evidence of a definite order, knowledge of it, and non-compliance.

Criminal contempt punishes past defiance. It is a crime, requiring proof beyond reasonable doubt, notice of the criminal nature of the proceeding, and the associated protections. A fixed, unconditional sanction is criminal even if the court calls it civil.

Direct contempt occurs in the court’s presence and may be dealt with summarily. Indirect contempt requires notice and a hearing.

Impossibility is a defence to civil contempt, and the burden is on the contemnor to show that compliance was genuinely impossible and that they took all reasonable steps.

The order must be clear. An ambiguous injunction cannot support contempt, which is a reason to draft injunctive relief in operational terms — who must do what, by when.

Practical use. Contempt is the enforcement mechanism for preliminary injunctions, discovery orders, protective orders, and post-judgment discovery. The motion succeeds on a clean record of the order, notice, and specific non-compliance.