Contempt of court

The court had a discretion whether to hear a contemnor who had not purged its contempt; and, regardless of what might be described as the general rule, as stated in CPR 23.0.16.1, it was preferable to ask whether, in the circumstances of the individual case, the interests of justice were best served by hearing a party in contempt or by refusing to do so, always bearing in mind the paramount importance which the court had to attach to the prompt and unquestioning observance of court orders.