‘JIH’ wins privacy appeal

January 31, 2011

Anonymity granted to privacy claimant until trial

This morning the Court of Appeal delivered judgment in the case of JIH v News Group Newspapers, overturning the refusal of Mr Justice Tugendhat to grant an interim order preventing the publication of the claimant’s identity until the trial of his privacy action.

The Master of the Rolls, with whom Maurice Kay and Smith LJJ agreed, concluded that the judge at first instance had erred in his understanding of the claimant’s position as to the choice between revealing his identity or revealing details about the case.

Anonymity was granted by the appellate court on the basis that, on the facts of JIH’s case, the public interest would be better served by the media being able to report on the nature of the information that JIH sought to protect rather than being permitted to publish the name of the individual without any further details concerning the subject matter of the action.

5RB‘s David Sherborne was junior counsel for JIH (instructed by Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP).

A full 5RB case report, and a copy of the judgment, can be accessed here.

Links