New Law Commission report on privacy out
Thursday, February 14th, 2008Get your copy here. It’s an early stage in the Commissions Herculian project aimed at reviewing the entire law of privacy. In this study paper they look at the big picture: the concepts behind privacy, and the effect of the rapidly changing social, legal and technological environment. (I’m part of a reference group that the […]
More grumbling about the Press Council
Monday, February 11th, 2008A lot of lawyers I know think the Press Council is a waste of time. It’s generally pro-press, it’s poorly resourced, its decisions are sloppy, and it has no power to impose a penalty worth spit. Heck, I’ve criticised the Press Council myself in the past. But recently, I’ve been encouraging people to take another look. […]
Press Council ducks interesting issue
Sunday, February 10th, 2008If you talk to a journalist on the basis that what you say is “not for publication” and the journalist publishes your remarks anyway, has the journalist behaved unethically? I think most people would think so. In the past, the Press Council has leaned this way, too: … if the conditions under which the [source] agreed […]
The Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Bill of Rights
Thursday, February 7th, 2008As I mention below, Claudia Geiringer and I delivered a paper at the conference for John Burrows about the Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Bill of Rights Act (BORA). The BORA requires the BSA to ensure that any restriction it imposes on the media’s freedom of expression (by upholding a complaint, for example) is reasonable […]
Tribute to John Burrows
Thursday, February 7th, 2008The University of Canterbury’s law school held a conference in honour of John Burrows last weekend. It was called “Law, Liberty and Legislation” and covered the broad sweep of issues that Professor Burrows has expertise in – from statute and contract law to media law (he’s written the leading texts in all three). On the […]
New Yorker cartoon
Thursday, February 7th, 2008One dog to another: “I had my own blog for a while, but I decided to go back to just pointless, incessant barking.”
Right Charlies?
Monday, February 4th, 2008Was the Advertising Standards Complaints Board right to uphold a complaint about the Charlies “sunbathing” fruit-juice ad? Even after Charlies agreed to screen it only in adult-viewing timeslots? It’s a typical piece of Marc Ellis larrikinism. He’s shown as a cartoon child spying on a buxom neighbour sunbathing nude (her cartoony breasts are strategically covered, first […]
Eady listening
Monday, January 28th, 2008So, the law of privacy is largely settled now, David Eady was telling me on Friday. (Heads-up: this is a brazen name-drop, and you are supposed to be suitably impressed by it. David Eady is Justice Eady, the British High Court judge who hears most of the media law cases. He’s also co-author – with Victoria law school’s […]
Handy info for Contempt lawsuits
Monday, January 21st, 2008Today’s DomPost has some useful information for those advising the media on contempt of Court issues. The average length of time between committal and trial, in the District Court and the High Court, is just under a year. Add to that an average of six to nine months between arrest and committal, and you’ve got […]
Canada moves toward expanded libel defence
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008Canada is finally jumping on the US, UK, Australian, South African and NZ bandwagon and providing protection to political (and other public-interest) speech against defamation actions. The Ontario Court of Appeal has created a Reynolds-type privilege for “responsible journalism”. (It’s all obiter, though, and the Canadian Supreme Court has yet to confirm the new direction). […]
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