THE REPUBLIC vs. FRANCIS L.A. BROWN AND FRANCIS KPAKPO BROWN EX PARTE: VICTOR AGGOE BRIANDT

APPLICATION FOR COMMITTAL FOR CONTEMPT i. Introduction: [1] This matter was originally scheduled for Thursday, November 22, 2018. On the said day however, the Respondents did not attend Court. The issued Bench Warrants but same were later rescinded when the Respondents came to Court at about 2pm with their Counsel. I start this decision with a quote of Lord Byron (1788-1824) a rather flamboyant former member of the British House of Lords. He is credited with the statement that: “He who holds no Laws in awe, He must perish by the Law”. Put simply, ordinarily, the law must be obeyed, no matter the circumstances. [2] The learned (and one of the respected jurists in the Common Law tradition) Lord Denning MR in the case of BRADBURY v. ENFIELD LONDON BOROUGH COUNCIL [1967] 1 W.L.R. 1311 @ 1324 stated: “Even if chaos should result, still the law must be obeyed”. [3] Contempt of Court is the mechanism which the law provides for the protection of the authority of the court fro...