The derisory term "Pyjama" injunctions is given to English legal injunctions that are decided late at the last minute before an action is to occur. The injunctions are used to provide a decision where expediency is required. The interim decision of judges on the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

(ECHR) regarding the legality of deportation flights by the United Kingdom to Rwanda as part of their

Rwanda asylum plan The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership was an immigration policy proposed by the governments of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak whereby people whom the United Kingdom identified as illegal immigrants or asylu ...

have been described as 'pyjama injunctions'. The ECHR injunctions are formally called "Rule 39" and can be issued late at night if the Court believes that there is a risk to an individual of "serious and irreversible harm" and all other options have been exhausted that could block the government's actions. The legal commentator Marcel Berlins wrote that he knew of only one High Court judge that was actually wearing their pyjamas when issuing an injunction. In the early 2000s the late night injunctions were usually sought to prevent the publication by a newspaper of a story seen as damaging to the claimant. Berlins criticised the ignorance of judges in

media law Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right o ...

as resulting in their timidity to grant publications of such stories and that it was often down to pure chance whether the judge on duty had experience in the relevant area of law.

References

{{UK-law-stub English legal terminology Injunctions in English law