Enforcement of Equitable Court Orders

• Author: Jeffrey Berryman
• Profession: Professor of Law. Faculty of Law University of Windsor
• Pages: 293-300

CHAPTER

16

ENFORCEMENT

OF

EQUITABLE

COURT

ORDERS

A.

INTRODUCTION

Equitable

court orders

of

injunction

and

specific

performance

are

prin-

cipally enforced through contempt

of

court proceedings. Enforcement

through

the use of the

courts' most coercive powers

has

been

one of

the

distinguishing

features

of

equitable relief.

All

superior courts

of

record have

as an

aspect

of

their respective inherent jurisdictions

the

power

to

exercise contempt

of

court powers. This power

can be

con-

ferred

by

statute

on

other

inferior

bodies,

but it

cannot

be

removed

from

superior courts unless

by

constitutional

amendment.1

B.

CIVIL

AND

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT

The

contempt

of

court power serves

two

distinct

functions.

One is to

ensure that

the

court's order

is

obeyed

as

between

the

parties

—

this

is

often

termed

civil

contempt.

The

other

function

is to

maintain

respect

and

integrity

of the

rule

of

law,

and the

public's support

for

judicial

authority

—

this

has

often

been termed criminal contempt. This dis-

tinction remains important

but is

often

blurred

by the

courts.

1 See

MacMillan

Bloedel

Ltd.

v.

Simpson,

[1995]

4

S.C.R.

725

[Simpson].

293