Cases

Tolkien v Birmingham Sunday Mercury

Comment

The PCC's ruling in this case establishes that the dead have no privacy rights under the Code. But the relatives of the deceased were entitled to respect, and by publishing a splash, containing lurid allegations about Father Tolkien, between his death and his funeral, the paper had infringed the Code by intruding into grief. Unusually, the PCC was willing to pass judgment on whether the paper had taken reasonable care in its publication.

Areas of work

Media Law
Privacy and Confidence

Also