New leading authority on contempt
19 March 2019
Senghin Kong appeared for Dr Zafar in the appeal of Liverpool Victoria Insurance v Zafar [2019] EWCA Civ 392, led by Jonathan Goldberg QC and instructed by Geoffrey Goldkorn. The appeal hearing was streamed live from the Master of the Rolls’ court on 12th February 2019 and can be viewed here. Today’s judgment of Etherton MR, Hamblen and Holroyde LJJ sitting in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) is the new leading authority on the proper approach to sentencing for contempt arising from the making of false witness statements. The insurer sought on appeal to increase the suspended committal imposed on Dr Zafar for contempt. The Court of Appeal declared that the sentence below was unduly lenient but agreed with the submission on behalf of Dr Zafar that the sentence should not be increased because to do so would be unfair. The judgment can be read here.
