Chapter 20 End-of-chapter questions

Article 10 is not an absolute right. It includes, in Article 10(2), a number of justifications which states can invoke in order to interfere with expression rights. Match each of the legitimate aims below to an example of those aims being pursued by the state.

A civil servant wishes to leak information to a national newspaper relating to the UK's top-secret anti-terrorism programme. The Ministry of Defence applies to the court for an injunction to prevent this information being published.

Parliament passes a law prohibiting the commission of publications which encourage individuals to join a proscribed terrorist organisation.

An industry regulator denies a licence to a broadcaster wishing to publish hardcore pornography and other disturbing videos.

The law of defamation prevents individuals from making unfounded allegations against others in the press.

The police refuse to grant permission for a group of protestors to march around local mosques because of the fear and intimidation that many local residents will inevitably feel as a result.

National laws prohibit individuals from refusing to provide information to the court when asked in appropriate circumstances by a judge.

In the UK, many statutory provisions seek to limit the scope of freedom of expression in various contexts. Match each of the statutory provisions to the relevant justification for breaching freedom of expression.

The law seeks to prevent the corruption of public morals. In particular, it seeks to limit the likelihood of individuals accessing materials which may 'deprave and corrupt' them.

The law seeks to prevent harm done to others - particularly minorities - through the expression of hateful views.

The law prevents the expression of information which could be detrimental to security and intelligence services.

The law regulates broadcast media to ensure that only appropriate television and radio outputs are broadcast.

The law regulates the sorts of expression which might prejudice trials and prevent justice from being done.

Over the decades, many aspects of the UK's legal regime relating to the protection of, and interferences with, freedom of expression have been challenged using human rights laws. Which of the following challenges were successful? Select all that apply.

A challenge to the overly wide application of the doctrine of contempt of court, in the context of reporting on the dangers of thalidomide.

A challenge to the requirement that journalists must give up certain sources or risk being charged with contempt of court.

A challenge to the breadth of material which could constitute an 'obscene' publication.

A challenge to the lack of a public interest defence in legislation relating to the protection of official secrets.

Celebrity X, who is married, is having an affair. He takes a walk along the beach with his secret lover, and is caught by journalists working for Publisher Y. On the basis of this information, Publisher Y alleges that Celebrity X is a 'cheating scoundrel' in their tabloid newspaper. Celebrity X tries to sue Publisher Y for defamation. In retaliation, Publisher Y tries to publish photographs of Celebrity X and their lover, taken on the beach. Celebrity X then sues Publisher Y for misuse of private information, and seeks an injunction restraining Publisher Y from publishing the photos in their tabloid newspaper. Publisher Y is of the view that they will publish the photographs regardless of what the court says regarding the injunction.
Which of the following statements provides the best account of the legal position in relation to this set of facts? Select one answer only.

Celebrity X's defamation proceedings face two hurdles: firstly, Publisher Y will likely be able to use the defence of 'truth' and/or 'opinion' in relation to the headline, and, secondly, Celebrity X will have to prove that releasing the information would cause them a 'reasonable risk of harm'. Whilst the publication of photographs can breach an individual's privacy, the success of Celebrity X in pursuing the tort of misuse of public information depends, primarily, on whether Celebrity X can be said to have held a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' when walking along the beach. Celebrity X may not be able to demonstrate this easily given the public nature of the setting and the clearly immoral nature of their actions. Regardless, if an injunction is issued and Publisher Y chooses to publish the photographs in spite of this, they would seriously risk acting in contempt of court.

Celebrity X's defamation proceedings face two hurdles: firstly, Publisher Y will likely be able to use the defence of 'truth' and/or 'opinion' in relation to the headline, and, secondly, Celebrity X will have to prove that releasing the information would cause them 'serious harm'. Whilst the publication of photographs can breach an individual's privacy, the success of Celebrity X in pursuing the tort of misuse of public information depends, primarily, on whether Celebrity X can be said to have held a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' when walking along the beach. Celebrity X may not be able to demonstrate this easily given the public nature of the setting and innocuous nature of the activity involved. Regardless, if an injunction is issued and Publisher Y chooses to publish the photographs in spite of this, they would seriously risk acting in contempt of court.

Celebrity X's defamation proceedings face two hurdles; firstly, Publisher Y will likely be able to use the defence of there being 'public interest' in the information, and, secondly, Celebrity X will have to prove that releasing the information would cause them 'serious harm'. The success of Celebrity X in pursuing the tort of misuse of public information depends, primarily, on whether Celebrity X can be said to have held a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' when walking along the beach, although in any case the publication of photographs cannot be said to breach an individual's privacy, especially as they are taken of Celebrity X whilst out in public. Regardless, if an injunction is issued and Publisher Y chooses to publish the photographs in spite of this, they would seriously risk acting in contempt of court.

Celebrity X's defamation proceedings face two hurdles; firstly, Publisher Y will likely be able to use the defence of there being 'public interest' in the information, and, secondly, Celebrity X will have to prove that releasing the information would cause them 'serious harm'. Whilst the publication of photographs can breach an individual's privacy, the fact that Celebrity X was out in public when the photographs were taken means that there would be no 'reasonable expectation of privacy' arising in this case. For that reason, any injunction issued by the court can be duly ignored by Publisher Y without consequence.

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