The grandparents of a child who was the subject of court proceedings have been jailed for contempt of court.
The child concerned was Alice Davies. The application before the court was made by Alice’s father for contact with his daughter however before the order could be enforced Alice was taken abroad by her mother.
The maternal grandparents gave evidence to the court that they did not know Alice’s whereabouts. Alice has since been found safe and well with her mother in Russia and the Judge concluded that the grandparents knew this when they gave evidence and therefore were in contempt of court.
The decision to pass a custodial sentence is an unusual one but perhaps underlines a move by the courts to a less tolerant approach to breaches of court orders. Now that many clients are no longer eligible for legal aid we are expecting more people to want to ensure that orders are complied with.
Courts have a range of powers to enforce court orders including requiring people to undertake unpaid work, fines and ordering people to pay compensation for money wasted.
If you are having issues regarding arrangements for your children and would like to speak to a family solicitor then please contact us for an initial chat.