One-person protests are the only kind of demonstration Russian citizens are permitted to hold without giving prior notice to the authorities. The unanimous judgment in Novikova and others v. Russia stops short of questioning this low threshold, but finds Russia in violation of Article 10 over its excessive zeal in enforcing the notification requirement through arrests and fines. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: May 2016 (Page 4 of 5)
Successive British governments have passed or tried to pass laws granting wide data sharing and surveillance powers, only for them to founder in the European courts due to conflicts with European directives and laws such as the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Continue reading
These are troubling times for those of us interested in the rule of law, that is, the overwhelming majority of society. The right to privacy is, of course, enshrined in law in this country through the Human Rights Act and is, without doubt, one of the most important basic human rights, available to all of us. Much to the annoyance of the tabloid press, there is no caveat which means it does not apply to actors, musicians or sports stars. The protection is universal. Continue reading
Is John Whittingdale the most hostile politician ever to have responsibility for the BBC? When a senior Telegraph journalist called his appointment as culture secretary “an effective declaration of war” on the BBC, some of us thought it excessive. Continue reading
The media and law news this week was dominated by the attempts of the British press to undermine another privacy injunction. This injunction relates to a story which noone contended related to a public interest story and which the press has been aware of for 5 years. Continue reading
In V v Associated Newspapers [2016] EWCOP 21, published on 25 April, Mr Justice Charles, Deputy President and Judge in Charge of the Court of Protection, uses the word ‘prurient’ several times about the press coverage of earlier judgments in the case of ‘C’, the woman who ‘lost her sparkle’. (She had been described in this way, from her own words, in a judgment by Mr Justice Macdonald.) Continue reading
In the case of Bédat v Switzerland ([2016] ECHR 313) the Grand Chamber overturned the Chamber’s decision and reached the surprising conclusion that the conviction and fine imposed on the applicant journalist for publishing a public interest story containing information covered by the secrecy of criminal investigations did not constitute a violation of his Article 10 rights. Continue reading
It is difficult to comprehend the full cynicism and inhumanity of the tabloid press until you have confronted it. Sometimes its oligarchs give you a spontaneous glimpse of the value systems of the tabloid empires. I was on a panel with Kelvin MacKenzie for a debate about the law on privacy some years ago (very much back in the public eye), and an audience member asked him whether he had ever given any consideration about the impact of the stories he published on its subjects. He replied without hesitation that he had not. Continue reading
Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index shows two interesting things. Namibia, ranked number 17, has the most improved press freedom environment in the world. And Africa, with the exception of North Africa, came second in rankings on the most improved media environment since 2015. Continue reading
It is hard to know whether the recent rumours about the contents of the forthcoming White Paper on the future of the BBC should be seen as light entertainment or crime drama. Three leading Sunday newspapers revealed that the government plans to interfere in the scheduling of popular programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Silent Witness and the News at Ten. Continue reading
Recent Judgments
© 2024 Inforrm's Blog
Theme by Anders Norén — Up ↑