Stay of proceedings

A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial. The court can subsequently lift the stay and resume proceedings. However, a stay is sometimes used as a device to postpone proceedings indefinitely.

Stay of proceedings by country

United Kingdom

In United Kingdom civil procedure a stay of proceedings is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules. In criminal trials, it is governed by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

A court in the United Kingdom may issue a stay in a winding-up upon the creation of an application for rescission, an order is made against a false or mistaken institution, the petition debt is paid in full, the pertaining institution ceases to exist, or if a winding-up order already exists.

In bankruptcy, a case can be stayed if a certification for annulment exists or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is being negotiated.

Examples of stays

In R v. Crawley a stay was given. The Ministry of Justice decided to cut the fees paid to barristers for Very High Cost Cases (VHCC) by 30% in November 2013. Due to the amount of papers involved this case was classed as a VHCC by the Legal Aid Authority (LAA) who pay the Defendant's costs (as free representation (legal aid) is required under the ECHR). Barristers in protest of the cuts refused the instructions to act on behalf of the Defendants at the reduced fees so no suitably qualified barristers could be found to represent the Defendants. As the Defendants would not be able to have a fair trial without suitable representation (in breach of their right to a fair trial) the case could not proceed and was stayed. An adjournment was found to be unlikely to resolve the case and excessive delay would contradict a further requirement of the ECHR (Article 6(1)) requiring timely handling of prosecution.

Nnamdi Kanu

Nwannekaenyi "Nnamdi" Kenny Okwu Kanu (born 1970s) is a political activist based in the United Kingdom. He is a leading member of separatist organization Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the director of London-based radio station Radio Biafra.

Biography

Early life

Kanu was born in Isiama Afara, Abia State, Nigeria. His father is HRM Eze Israel Okwu Kanu (JP) and his mother is Ugoeze Nnenne Kanu. He attended Library Avenue Primary School (now part of Government House, Umuahia) and went to Government College for his secondary education. He later gained admission to the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), where he could not finish due to incessant strikes before he left for London to complete his tertiary education.

Arrest

On October 18, 2015, it was reported that Mr Kanu had been arrested in Lagos State by Nigeria’s secret police the Department of State Services (DSS). Mr Kanu had told his solicitors that he was, on 14th October, 2015, arrested by the agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the State Security Service (SSS) in his hotel room i.e. Golden Tulip Essential Hotel Ikeja, Lagos State. The solicitors in a press briefing said, between 14th and 17th October, 2015 their clients whereabouts were unknown until 18th of October, 2015, when the Press Media broke the news of his arrest and detention by the SSS in Abuja. The news of the arrest of Mr Kanu generated mass protests across parts of Delta State, Enugu State, Rivers State, Cross River State, Abia State, Imo State, Akwa Ibom State and Anambra State.

Automatic stay

In United States bankruptcy law, an automatic stay is an automatic injunction that halts actions by creditors, with certain exceptions, to collect debts from a debtor who has declared bankruptcy. Under section 362 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, the stay begins at the moment the bankruptcy petition is filed. Secured creditors may, however, petition the bankruptcy court for relief from the automatic stay upon a showing of cause.

Provisions

A filed bankruptcy petition immediately operates as an automatic stay, holding in abeyance various forms of creditor action against the debtor. Automatic stay provisions work to protect the debtor against certain actions from the creditor, including:

A court may give a creditor relief from the stay if the creditor can show that the stay does not give the creditor "adequate protection" or if it jeopardizes the creditor's interest in certain property. The court may give relief to the creditor in the form of periodic cash payments or an additional or replacement lien on the property.

Stay

Stay may refer to:

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