Section one of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 makes it an offence to send a message which is «indecent or grossly offensive; a threat; or information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender; [if the purpose is that] it should cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to
whom he
intends that it or its contents or
nature should be communicated».
These include the
intended purpose of the humour, to
whom or what it is directed, and the type of humour (jokes; spontaneous conversational humour such as wit, irony or sarcasm; unintentional humour), considered in light of the specific context of the courtroom including features such as who is actually present in the courtroom, the
nature of the matter and the type of proceedings.