Section 163 — District Court Act 2016: Contempt of enforcement proceedings

163 Contempt of enforcement proceedings (1) No order may be made under subsection (3) unless any of the circumstances described in subsection (2) apply and the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that— (a) the judgment debtor has sufficient means to pay the judgment debt but refuses to do so; and (b) all other methods of enforcing the judgment have been considered or tried and are inappropriate or have been unsuccessful. (2) The circumstances referred to in subsection (1) are as follows: (a) a financial statement has been filed in court: (b) the court has been provided with information about the judgment debtor’s means for satisfying the judgment debt under section 147 : (c) a hearing under section 148 or a financial assessment hearing has taken place. (3) The court may, on the application of a judgment creditor, do either or both of the following: (a) order the judgment debtor to do community work, not exceeding 200 hours, as the court thinks fit: (b) impose any of the orders referred to in section 133 , 136 , or 137 , or do any of the things referred to in section 153(2) . (4) An order made under subsection (3) has effect as if it were a sentence of community work, and the relevant provisions of Part 2 of the Sentencing Act 2002, with any necessary modifications, apply accordingly. (5) If the District Court, acting under this section, orders a judgment debtor to do community work, the judgment debtor has the same right of appeal to the High Court against the order as the judgment debtor would have had if the judgment debtor had been convicted and sentenced by the District Court before a Judge alone in relation to a charge. (6) An order made under subsection (3) does not operate to extinguish or affect the liability of the judgment debtor to pay the judgment debt. (7) A proceeding under this section may from time to time be adjourned by the court to a time and place to be appointed. Compare: 1947 No 16 s 84O