Friday, July 27, 2007

Privacy on parade in the UK

The Lawyer.com has an interesting article on the use of the Human Rights Act in the United Kingdom to dramatically extend individual privcy rights. It also includes a brief overview of some significant cases:

Privacy on parade - 16 July 2007

Five key cases

Lord Browne v Associated Newspapers, 2007

Eady J decided BP's shareholders had the right to know that Lord Browne had lied in court. But what they did not need to know were details of his personal conversations with ex-boyfriend Jeff Chevalier, which remain private.

McKennitt v Ash, 2005

One of the first real tests of Article 8. Eady J went through a number of passages from an exposé of singer Loreena McKennitt, deciding on each one whether it breached privacy rules. The result? A win for privacy.

Prince of Wales v Associated Newspapers, 2006

Blackburne J weighed up Articles 8 and 10 of the Human Rights Act and found that the former was stronger than the latter in the case of publishing the prince's diary.

Douglas v Hello!, 2007

The Lords' decision on Douglas has given celebrities greater control over their images and the way they are portrayed in the press.

Campbell v MGN, 2004

The Lords found that the photographs of Naomi Campbell attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting had a far greater effect than just words and so had invaded her privacy.

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