Cases

Carr v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Others

Comment

This was a serious breach of the protection meant to be afforded to the media under s.12. It was common ground that the section had not been referred to or specifically considered by the Judge, yet no sanction followed from the breach. Overall, the Court's treatment of s.12 has meant that the real protection it was supposed to offer to the media has proved to be almost completely illusory. It led to the recognition of privacy rights in Douglas v Hello!; having "particular regard" to the right of freedom of expression was held to be nothing more than a tick-box in Imutran; in Cream Holdings the Court of Appeal ruled that "likely to succeed" means no more than a realistic prospect of success (thereby lowering the threshold for injunctive relief in media cases); and in Maxine Carr a wide injunction was granted without any notice being given to the media and without the Court even considering s.12.

Areas of work

Human Rights
Injunctive Relief
Media Law
Privacy and Confidence

Also