ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the main principles and implications of contempt of court. It explains the interrelationships and conflicts between contempt legislation and freedom of journalistic expression. The Contempt of Court Act 1981 (CCA) redefined and codified the strict liability offence of contempt of court in statute, which requires court proceedings to be ‘active’. Section 11 CCA gives the court the power to make a direction prohibiting the publication of a name or related matter, thereby withholding those details from the public and media reporting in court proceedings. Photographs are a major concern as a source of contempt by publication. This becomes particularly serious in criminal cases where a police suspect has not yet been positively identified by a witness in an ID parade. Scottish contempt proceedings are usually dealt with by a sheriff court and are known as ‘breach of interdict’.
