‘Wagatha Christie’ puts England’s legal system on trial in the social media age – The Guardian

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in civil justice, defamation, internet, media, news by sally

‘People poke fun at the lawyers, but there are serious concerns about how the law deals with everyone being a publisher.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Media reporters’ Charter – open justice, but only for some – Transparency Project

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in codes of practice, courts, HM Courts Service, media, news by sally

‘A new “Reporters’ Charter” outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system, according an announcement by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The charter, part of the General guidance to staff on supporting media access to courts and tribunals, was developed by the Media Lawyers Association and HM Courts and Tribunals Service and unveiled at the Society of Editors Annual Conference on 11 May 2022.’

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Transparency Project, 22nd May 2022

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

New Charter to improve media access to courts – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 17th, 2022 in courts, law reports, media, news, reporting restrictions by tracey

‘A new Reporters’ Charter outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system.’

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Ministry of Justice, 11th May 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Section 40: government to repeal controversial media law – The Guardian

Posted May 12th, 2022 in costs, media, news, repeals by sally

‘A controversial law that could force publishers to pay the costs of the people who sue them, even if they win, is to be repealed, the government has announced.’

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The Guardian, 10th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge throws out most of Swedish businessman’s libel claim in England – The Guardian

‘A British judge has thrown out large parts of a libel action by a Swedish businessman who tried to sue journalists writing about his company before its flotation on a Norwegian stock exchange.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Freedom of Information Act does not allow aggregation of separate public interests in maintaining different exemptions when weighing them against public interest in disclosure: Upper Tribunal – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”) does not permit aggregation of the separate public interests in favour of maintaining different exemptions when weighing the maintenance of the exemptions against the public interest which favours disclosure of the information sought, the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Actor Ricky Tomlinson opposing bid to have ‘hacking’ claim thrown out of court – The Independent

‘Actor Ricky Tomlinson has described an attempt by a newspaper publisher to have his claim against it over unlawful information gathering thrown out of court as “outrageous and disgusting”.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Former Lib Dem MP and campaigner formally settles phone hacking claim – The Independent

‘Dr Evan Harris accepted “substantial damages” from NGN, publisher of the now-defunct News of the World and The Sun, to settle his claim for unlawful information gathering.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legal regulators “need to do more” in dealing with SLAPPs – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Bar Standards Board and other legal regulators need to do more to deal with SLAPPs – strategic lawsuits against public participation – because they are undermining the profession’s reputation, a report has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 26th April 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Insufficient evidence’ to prosecute two people suspected of leaking CCTV of Matt Hancock kiss – The Independent

‘No-one will be prosecuted over the leaking of CCTV footage that showed former health secretary Matt Hancock kissing his aide while coronavirus social distancing guidelines were in place.’

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The Independent, 13th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Court of Protection and transparency – Local Government Lawyer

‘Lauren Gardner analyses a Court of Protection ruling on whether proceedings in relation to a 21-year-old woman should be open to the public and whether the judgment should be published.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Birmingham pub bombings: Chris Mullin wins fight to protect source – The Guardian

‘Chris Mullin, the journalist and former MP, has won the right to protect his sources in a historic freedom of the press case at the Old Bailey.’

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The Guardian, 22nd March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Guardian wins legal challenge over access to employment tribunal papers – The Guardian

‘Journalists should be provided with access to documents from employment tribunal cases even in the aftermath of a judgment, it has been ruled, after a successful legal challenge by the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 22nd March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge to rule in police bid for Birmingham bombing journalist material – The Independent

Posted March 22nd, 2022 in disclosure, media, miscarriage of justice, news, police, terrorism by tracey

‘A judge is expected to deliver his ruling in the case of a journalist who investigated the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings and resisted a police bid to force him to reveal his sources.’

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The Independent, 22nd March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Government clampdown on the abuse of British courts to protect free speech – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 17th, 2022 in defamation, freedom of expression, media, news, privacy by tracey

‘Wealthy individuals and powerful corporations who seek to silence critics by abusing the UK legal system have been put on notice by the government.’

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Ministry of Justice, 17th March 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Protecting the identity of a child whose sibling has been killed by their parents – Transparency Project

‘This was the issue in the landmark human rights case, Re S [2004] UKHL 47, in which Lord Steyn formulated the test in balancing privacy interests under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights with freedom of expression interests under Article 10. Lord Steyn’s formula is relied on (or should be) every time the media argue that it’s in the public interest to breach someone’s Article 8 rights. Likewise, every time an individual argues their privacy rights outweigh freedom of expression, we go to Re S.’

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Transparency Project, 8th March 2022

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

BBC News programme ‘breached’ Ofcom broadcast standards – The Independent

Posted March 8th, 2022 in BBC, complaints, media, news, standards by tracey

‘A BBC News programme has been found to have breached “broadcast standards” due to it featuring an inaccurate statement which was not acknowledged or corrected on air, Ofcom has said.’

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The Independent, 7th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bid by Kazakh mining company to sue journalist is dismissed by judge – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2022 in defamation, fraud, media, murder, news, witnesses by sally

‘An attempt by a Kazakh mining giant to sue a British journalist for allegedly claiming it ordered the murders of three men has been thrown out by a judge.’

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The Guardian, 2nd March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Case Comment: Bloomberg LP v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Jessica Eaton, an associate in the litigation team at CMS, comments on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Bloomberg LP v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5, case which cojeet_lthumbncerned the right to privacy in the context of a criminal investigation.’

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UKSC Blog, 25th February 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Bloombery v ZXC – the Supreme Court decides – Panopticon

‘The central question for the Supreme Court in Bloombery v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5 was, as Lords Hamblen and Stephens put it (with Lord Reeds, Lloyd-Jones and Sales agreeing): “whether, in general, a person under criminal investigation has, prior to being charged, a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of information relating to that investigation”. The short answer was “yes”.’

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Panopticon, 21st February 2022

Source: panopticonblog.com