The Act under which a court can order the committal to prison of a person who has the means to pay a court-ordered debt (such as maintenance) but refuses or neglects to do so. Section 5 limits the maximum term to 42 days. It is one of the enforcement methods used in family financial cases.
In Plain English
An old law that gives the court the power to send someone to prison for up to six weeks if they have the money to pay a court-ordered debt but refuse to do so. It is a serious way the court forces people to pay things like monthly maintenance.
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