Contempt of Court in Zambia: a Critical analysis of the statutory provisions and judicial prcedents governing the law of contempt of court in Zambia in Line with the need to observe the rules of Natural justice and sentencing principles

Abstract

The legal instrument of Contempt of Court is one which has brought a magnitude of controversy in the Zambian legal jurisdiction. As this notion is not a new occurrence, its genesis can be traced as far back as the eighteenth century and has carefully evolved for the proper administration of justice. The intended purpose of this academic paper is to provide a full analysis of the statutory provisions and judicial precedents (past and recent) governing the law of Contempt of Court in Zambia as a means of ascertaining whether the same take into consideration the Principles of Natural Justice.These include especially the notion that "no man ought to be a judge in his own case" and "every man has the right to be heard" in circumstances especially of Contempt in the face of the court. The paper attempts in the same vein to give a detailed account of how Contempt Proceedings can be commenced in civil litigation, those of a criminal nature as per the provisions of the Zambian Penal Code Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia and proceedings whose genesis emanate from a court of law moving on its own motion to commence the same.This paper seeks to primarily establish whether or not the Courts of law have given efficacy to the existing governing statutory law on Contempt of Court with due regard for the need to adhere to the aforesaid Rules of Natural Justice. Consequentially, an analysis of the need to observe Sentencing Principles as against a Contemnor in Contempt of Court matters is imperative to this paper.