Cases

King v Lewis & Others (CA)

Held

Appeal dismissed. (1) The Defendants could show no error in approach by Eady J. (2) Four principles could be extracted from the relevant case law (a) there is an initial presumption that the natural or appropriate forum for the trial is the place where the tort is committed; in defamation that would be where the libel was published; (b) however, the more tenuous the Claimant’s connection with this jurisdiction the weaker this consideration becomes; (c) in Internet cases the court’s discretion will be more “open-textured” so as to give effect to the publisher’s choice of a global medium; and (d) the judge must consider what is the appropriate forum without any consideration of whether there is a “juridical advantage”. The Defendant’s intention (and any alleged “targeting” of the publication) were irrelevant. Internet publications by their nature “targeted” a global audience.

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