07 Nov Representation in contempt proceedings
I have acted in two cases recently which have raised the issue of representation in contempt proceedings and I write this article in the hope that defendants and lawyers dealing with contempt proceedings will read it and that hopefully it will highlight some of the confusion around these applications.
Contempt proceedings are covered by part 81 of the CPR.
Two of the requirements of a contempt application are that the defendant has the right to be legally represented in the contempt proceedings and that the defendant is entitled to a reasonable opportunity to obtain legal representation and to apply for legal aid which may be available without any means test.
The legal aid available for contempt proceedings is set out in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Section 16 provides representation for the purposes of criminal proceedings is to be available under this part to an individual if the individual is a specified individual in relationship to the proceedings and the relevant authority has determined that the individual qualifies for such representation. Section 14 defines criminal proceedings and section 14-H states ‘such other proceedings before any court tribunal or other person as may be prescribed’ ie contempt proceedings.
The legal aid is non means tested so someone’s finances are not relevant to the grant of legal aid. It can become relevant later on if the case is proved and a Recovery of Defence costs order is made. But for the purposes of granting legal aid, someone’s finances are irrelevant.
Therefore contempt proceedings are covered under the Criminal Legal Aid General Regulations 2013 made under delegated powers as set out in LASPO. It is important to note that legal aid in these proceedings is available by way of a crm 14 submitted to the Legal Aid Agency by a law firm with a criminal LAA franchise or alternatively on some occasions if appropriate expertise can be demonstrated, a one off contract with the Legal Aid Agency. The processing of these application generally take about 48 hours. The certificates when they first come are limited to circa £1500 but the Legal Aid Agency are willing and able to extend the financial limits on the certificate should it be shown that further work is required.
One difficulty to be aware of for practitioners is that the Legal Aid Agency are extremely slow in making payments on these cases. However what is important for defendants to know is that they are entitled to non means tested legal aid and that the application is made on a crm 14 form and is submitted through the legal aid portal which is accessed through a firm with a criminal defence franchise or alternatively if the firm does not have a criminal defence franchise, it is submitted as a one off contract to the Legal Aid Agency in Nottingham.
The two cases I’ve dealt with recently demonstrate two separate issues:
Firstly, in one case the defendants had already paid out circa £160,000 in legal costs to a firm of solicitors because they had not been advised that they were entitled to non means tested legal aid. I think it’s very important that all solicitors are aware that this legal aid is available for representation and the costs in defending contempt proceedings without legal aid can be significant.
Secondly in another case I’ve acted in recently the defendant has clearly been approaching local criminal legal aid firms and that the firms have been unaware of the availability of legal aid or how to go about applying for it or how to conduct the proceedings.
I accept that there are not many firms in England and Wales who are dealing with this type of work but it’s important that people do realise that non means tested representation is available to defend contempt proceedings in the High Court and County Court.
I hope this article has helped!
Karen Todner 7th November 2025
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