Crackdown on corrupt elites abusing UK legal system to silence critics – Ministry of Justice

‘The Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has today (20 July 2022) set out a package of measures that take aim at so-called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs).’

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Ministry of Justice, 20th July 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

MoJ considers £5,000 costs cap to protect defendants against SLAPPs – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has suggested that people defending themselves from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) could be protected by a £5,000 costs cap.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A victory for public interest journalism – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 21st, 2022 in defamation, media, news, public interest by sally

‘On 13 June Arron Banks’ libel claim against Carol Cadwalladr was dismissed, in a significant victory for public interest journalism (Arron Banks v Carole Cadwalladr [2022] EWHC 1417 (QB)).’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

English courts get new powers to dismiss Slapp cases against reporters – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2022 in abuse of process, freedom of expression, media, news, public interest by sally

‘Courts in England and Wales are to be granted new powers to dismiss lawsuits employed by wealthy claimants to stifle free speech, the government has said.’

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The Guardian, 20th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Prince Harry wins latest stage of Mail on Sunday defamation case – The Independent

Posted July 8th, 2022 in damages, defamation, media, news, royal family by sally

‘A Mail on Sunday article on the Duke of Sussex’s legal claim against the Home Office contained parts that were defamatory, the High Court has ruled.’

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The Independent, 8th July 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tech platforms face UK ban on blocking news providers before appeal – The Guardian

Posted July 8th, 2022 in appeals, bills, freedom of expression, internet, media, news by sally

‘Tech platforms will be barred from taking down news content in the UK until an appeal has been heard against the decision, ministers have said.’

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The Guardian, 7th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bill of Rights to strengthen freedom of speech and curb bogus human rights claims – Ministry of Justice

‘Freedom of speech and the views of elected lawmakers will be given greater weight in law under a Bill of Rights introduced to Parliament today (Wednesday 22 June).’

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Ministry of Justice, 22nd June 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Channel 4 subtitles outage breached licence, Ofcom rules – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2022 in disabled persons, licensing, media, news by sally

‘Channel 4 breached the conditions of its broadcast licence by failing to provide enough subtitled programming to some viewers in autumn 2021 after a sonic boom destroyed equipment used to broadcast its programmes, the media watchdog has found.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Arron Banks loses libel action against reporter Carole Cadwalladr – The Guardian

Posted June 14th, 2022 in defamation, media, news, public interest by sally

‘The multimillionaire Brexit backer Arron Banks has lost his libel action against the Observer and Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, in a significant decision for public interest journalism.’

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The Guardian, 13th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The worst law on earth’: why the rich love London’s reputation managers – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson has vowed to level the playing field on which oligarchs stifle those who scrutinise them. How can he do it?’

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The Guardian, 8th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Why The Human Rights Act Matters To Journalists – Each Other

Posted May 24th, 2022 in bills, human rights, media, news by sally

‘The Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, recently took to the Mail Online to justify his plans to introduce a Bill of Rights replacing the Human Rights Act (HRA), the UK law that obliges the government to ensure our rights as citizens are upheld.’

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Each Other, 23rd May 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

‘Wagatha Christie’ puts England’s legal system on trial in the social media age – The Guardian

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in civil justice, defamation, internet, media, news by sally

‘People poke fun at the lawyers, but there are serious concerns about how the law deals with everyone being a publisher.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Media reporters’ Charter – open justice, but only for some – Transparency Project

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in codes of practice, courts, HM Courts Service, media, news by sally

‘A new “Reporters’ Charter” outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system, according an announcement by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The charter, part of the General guidance to staff on supporting media access to courts and tribunals, was developed by the Media Lawyers Association and HM Courts and Tribunals Service and unveiled at the Society of Editors Annual Conference on 11 May 2022.’

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Transparency Project, 22nd May 2022

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

New Charter to improve media access to courts – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 17th, 2022 in courts, law reports, media, news, reporting restrictions by tracey

‘A new Reporters’ Charter outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system.’

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Ministry of Justice, 11th May 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Section 40: government to repeal controversial media law – The Guardian

Posted May 12th, 2022 in costs, media, news, repeals by sally

‘A controversial law that could force publishers to pay the costs of the people who sue them, even if they win, is to be repealed, the government has announced.’

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The Guardian, 10th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge throws out most of Swedish businessman’s libel claim in England – The Guardian

‘A British judge has thrown out large parts of a libel action by a Swedish businessman who tried to sue journalists writing about his company before its flotation on a Norwegian stock exchange.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Freedom of Information Act does not allow aggregation of separate public interests in maintaining different exemptions when weighing them against public interest in disclosure: Upper Tribunal – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”) does not permit aggregation of the separate public interests in favour of maintaining different exemptions when weighing the maintenance of the exemptions against the public interest which favours disclosure of the information sought, the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Actor Ricky Tomlinson opposing bid to have ‘hacking’ claim thrown out of court – The Independent

‘Actor Ricky Tomlinson has described an attempt by a newspaper publisher to have his claim against it over unlawful information gathering thrown out of court as “outrageous and disgusting”.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Former Lib Dem MP and campaigner formally settles phone hacking claim – The Independent

‘Dr Evan Harris accepted “substantial damages” from NGN, publisher of the now-defunct News of the World and The Sun, to settle his claim for unlawful information gathering.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legal regulators “need to do more” in dealing with SLAPPs – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Bar Standards Board and other legal regulators need to do more to deal with SLAPPs – strategic lawsuits against public participation – because they are undermining the profession’s reputation, a report has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 26th April 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk