Court of Appeal to hear ZXC v Bloomberg LP privacy appeal

Privacy rights in information as to criminal investigation at centre of appeal in business journalism case

A two-day Court of Appeal hearing in ZXC v Bloomberg LP begins tomorrow.

Bloomberg LP is appealing an April 2019 decision of Nicklin J on nine grounds, including a challenge to the judge’s finding that a person under criminal investigation has, in general, a reasonable expectation of privacy in information relating to that investigation, up to the point of charge.

ZXC was the chief executive of a division of a UK company active in several foreign countries. Last year, Nicklin J held that ZXC’s Article 8 right to privacy outweighed Bloomberg LP’s Article 10 right to freedom of expression, and granted him an injunction and damages of £25,000 against the Appellant. ZXC’s complaint stemmed from a 2016 article concerning a fraud, bribery and corruption investigation. Some of the information in the article derived from a Letter of Request for mutual legal assistance, sent to a foreign country as part of that investigation.

A copy of the first instance judgment can be downloaded here. Bloomberg LP is represented by 5RB’s Clara Hamer (led by Antony White QC), instructed by RPC LLP.