pyjama injunction

noun

An injunction that was granted (typically at night) with expediency outside a court's office hours.

Meanings

nounpyjama injunction (plural pyjama injunctions)

plural pyjama injunctions · alternative pajama injunction

  1. EnglandWalesinformalAn injunction that was granted (typically at night) with expediency outside a court's office hours.

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

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

    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.

    2000 July 3, Marcel Berlins, “Beware judges in pyjamas”, in The Guardian

    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.

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

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pyjama injunction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyjama%20injunction

MLA

“pyjama injunction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyjama%20injunction. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pyjama injunction,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyjama%20injunction.

Source: pyjama injunction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.