imprisonment for debt Abolished by the Debtors Act 1869 (UK), except in the case of the following defaults in payment: (1) of a penalty other than under a contract; (2) of any sum recoverable summarily; (3) into court by a trustee as ordered; (4) by a solicitor of costs awarded against him for misconduct, etc.; (5) for the benefit of creditors of any salary or income as ordered by a court in bankruptcy. Also a judgment debtor may be imprisoned for not more than six weeks for non-payment of a debt if he has the means to pay, but refuses (Debtors Act 1869, s.5).