Key Facts
- •Mr. Fahad Abdi (father) appealed a 12-month committal order for contempt of court for failing to comply with orders regarding the return of his four children from Somalia.
- •The children's mother had taken them to Somalia, and the father's actions (including a threatening voice note) suggested knowledge of their location.
- •The father repeatedly failed to comply with court orders to return the children and disclose their whereabouts, despite multiple opportunities and adjournments.
- •The father represented himself and alleged procedural irregularities, false evidence, and racism.
- •The judge found the father in contempt, considering his imprisonment did not prevent him from cooperating to return the children.
Legal Principles
A defendant is not in breach of a mandatory order if it was not within their power to comply.
Re L-W (Enforcement and Committal: Contact) [2010] EWCA Civ 1253
Contempt of court involves deliberate disobedience; mere suspicion of recalcitrance is insufficient. The onus remains on the applicant to prove contempt.
Re A (A Child) (Removal from Jurisdiction: Contempt of Court) [2009] 1 WLR 1482
Successive terms of imprisonment can be imposed for further breaches of repeated orders, provided each breach is a separate contempt and the sentence is necessary and proportionate.
Re W (Abduction: Committal) [2012] 1 WLR 1036
Committal orders serve dual purposes: punishment for past disobedience and coercive effect to secure future compliance.
Re W (Abduction: Committal) [2012] 1 WLR 1036
Section 14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 limits the maximum sentence for contempt.
Contempt of Court Act 1981, Section 14
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The court found the judge's decision and sentence were justified. The father's procedural arguments were rejected, and his claim of inability to comply due to imprisonment was deemed unfounded regarding some aspects of the order. The court held that the father's actions constituted separate contempts of court.