The Supreme Court of Canada gave judgment yesterday in the case of Toronto Star v Canada (2010 SCC 21) upholding section 517 of the Criminal Code, a federal law that bans the media from reporting evidence from bail hearings. The ban is discretionary if the application is made by the prosecution and mandatory if the application is made by the defence. The case arose in the context of two high profile cases — a murder case in Alberta and an Ontario case involving terrorism‑related offences — in which there had been a ban on reporting the bail hearings.
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: June 2010 (Page 4 of 5)
A version of this article first appeared in the June 2010 issue of COUNSEL magazine it is reproduced with permission and thanks
A month is a long time in politics. On 3 March 2010, the previous Justice Secretary Jack Straw laid before Parliament a Statutory Instrument by which the maximum ‘uplift’ in defamation and privacy cases would be reduced from 100% to 10%. On 18 March, the House of Lords Continue reading
The Court of Appeal this morning heard an application by the Claimant, Matthew Fiddes, for permission to appeal the decision of Mr Justice Tugendhat to have the trial heard by judge alone. The Court, which comprised Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Maurice Kay, Vice President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) and Lord Justice Sedley, gave Fiddes permission but then went on to refuse the substantive appeal. Judgment has been reserved, but Fiddes has been ordered to pay Channel 4’s costs in the sum of £14,000 within 28 days. Trial is due to commence on Monday with a time estimate of 20 days. Continue reading
On 27 May 2010 Conservative blogger Iain Dale’s company Biteback published a biography of Wayne Rooney, with the title Rooney’s Gold (available from Amazon). This is a biography of the England footballer by journalist John Sweeney. It is said to concentrate on the people surrounding Rooney rather than on his footballing career. It appears that concerns about libel claims by his former agent, Paul Stretford, led to Random House deciding not to publish the book in 2007. It is now being brought out just in time for the World Cup. Continue reading
In a post last week we suggested that there should be a mature debate on the various issues raised by Libel Reform Campaign. The first of these issues concerns the burden of proof in libel cases.
Background
In English defamation law, once the claimant establishes that the defendant has published defamatory allegations, the defendant bears the burden of establishing any “defence” Continue reading
In this post we round up recent decisions and blog posts on freedom of expression and media law issues which may be of interest to our readers around the world
The case of Snyder v Phelps has been much discussed this week after forty-eight states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief supporting the appeal. The case is a claim by the family of a soldier who died in Iraq who brought Continue reading
“This article was first published in Solicitors Journal on 24 May 2010 and is reproduced by kind permission”.
Abolishing juries in defamation cases would not only keep costs down for both sides, but would also open up the verdicts to scrutiny, says William Bennett
Excessive litigation costs in defamation claims can unduly restrict freedom of speech and hinder access to justice. Continue reading
In this regular feature we draw attention to the last week’s law and media news and next week’s upcoming events. If readers have any news or events which they would like to draw attention to please add them by way of comments on this post. We are particularly interested in forthcoming events. Continue reading
The Court of Appeal handed down an interesting decision this week in relation to the tort of malicious falsehood, one which might have wider implications for the law of libel. The issue in Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe SAS v ASDA Stores Ltd ([2010] EWCA Civ 609) concerned the determination of meaning in a malicious falsehood case. Put shortly: if it is alleged that the defendant has made false and malicious allegation, how the precise nature of the allegation made to be ascertained? Continue reading
On Thursday, the California Assembly passed the anti-paparazzi legislation amendment AB 2479, proposed by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, which would prevent surveillance at or near a person’s home. The new amendment now requires approval of the State Senate, in order to become law. There is a local news report of the development in the Sacramento Bee. Continue reading
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