pyjama injunction

English

Alternative forms

• pajama injunction

Etymology

From urban legends stating that judges wore pyjamas when dealing with such injunctions due to lateness.

Noun

pyjama injunction (plural pyjama injunctions)

1. (England, Wales, informal) An injunction that was granted (typically at night) with expediency outside a court's office hours.
   • 2000 July 3, Marcel Berlins, “Beware judges in pyjamas”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     They're called pyjama injunctions because, according to folklore, they're granted by High Court judges who, due to the lateness of the hour, are already in kipping gear.

   • 2001, Jonathan Horton, “The developing right to privacy - at common law”, in Privacy Law and Policy Reporter‎^[2], volume 7, number 10, page 206:

     When the claimants were informed that Hello! was about to publish the unauthorised photographs, they immediately sought a ‘pyjama injunction’ by telephone.

   • 2024 January 25, Emma Soteriou, “Rishi Sunak faces fresh blow over Rwanda as European judge claims plan is unlawful”, in LBC‎^[3]:

     The measure — branded a "pyjama injunction" by critics as it can be issued outside normal court hours — was behind the grounding of the first flight to Rwanda in June 2022.