The High Court has refused to release B.L. from Castlerea Prison after finding that the Circuit Court order committing him for unpaid maintenance was valid on its face.
B.L. had been detained since 28 July 2017 under an order made by Judge Keenan Johnson. The order required him to remain in custody until he purged his contempt by complying with a 2008 maintenance order and discharging arrears then standing at €41,700, or until otherwise lawfully released.
His solicitor told the High Court that B.L. was no longer working, received €180 per week in social welfare and would never be able to clear the arrears. His lawyers argued that the committal order therefore amounted in practice to life imprisonment and was fundamentally flawed because it had no fixed end date.
Mr Justice Binchy rejected that argument. He distinguished criminal contempt, where imprisonment is punishment for past conduct and must have a definite term, from civil contempt, where imprisonment is designed to compel compliance with a court order.
The judge held that the Circuit Court order was clearly coercive. In that context, an indefinite term was permissible because detention would cease once the contempt was purged.
The High Court said B.L.’s claim that compliance was financially impossible could not be decided within an Article 40 inquiry into the legality of detention. That issue could instead be raised through an appeal against the Circuit Court order or judicial review.
Counsel also argued at the hearing that B.L. had not been present or represented when the committal order was made. The judge said that could potentially amount to a fundamental denial of justice, but the allegation had not been made in the grounding affidavit and the respondent had no opportunity to answer it.
Finding no facial invalidity, fundamental flaw or proven denial of justice, the High Court refused B.L.’s application for release.