- Lord Justice Leveson, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press: Executive Summary and Recommendations (HC 779, 2012), para 70.
- In March 1695 the House of Commons failed to renew the annual Licensing Act, frst introduced in 1662, under which the Stationers Company enjoyed monopoly powers to approve and regulate all printed material.
- HC Deb, vol 554, col 449 (29 November 2012). Expressing reservations about the use of legislation, the Prime Minister said: '[T]he issue of principle is that, for the frst time, we would have crossed the Rubicon of writing elements of press regulation into the law of the land.'
- Executive Summary (n 1) para 72.
- s 96.
- Lord Justice Leveson, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press: Report (HC 780, 2012), 63, para 3.6. (Page references in the full Report are given, followed generally by references to specifc paragraphs on that page.)
- Ibid, para 3.7.
- Ibid, 65, para 5.4.
- Ibid, 67, para 5.11.
- See section 4 below.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 67, para 5.12.
- 'Foundations and Limits of Freedom of the Press' in J Lichtenberg (ed), Democracy and the Mass Media (Cambridge University Press, 1990) ch 3 at 105. See also E Barendt, Freedom of Speech (Oxford University Press, 2nd edn 2007) ch XII.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 66, para 5.10.
- Ibid, 446, paras 3.16–3.18.
- Executive Summary (n 1) paras 71 and 73.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 1673, para 7.1.
- Ibid, 1678, para 7.21.
- Executive Summary (n 1) paras 66–70.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 1671, para 6.1. ‘Statutory recognition’ is the heading of section 6 of Part K, chapter 4.
- Ibid, 1671, para 6.3.
- Ibid, 1671, para 6.4.
- Ibid, 1677, para 7.14.
- Lord Black of Brentwood, a Conservative peer, is Executive Director of the Telegraph Media Group. He was Director of the PCC from 1996 to 2003 and has been Chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance since 2009.
- See the report of his evidence in Leveson Report (n 6) 1675, para 7.7.
- Ibid.
- Ibid, paras 7.4–7.5.
- Communications Act 2003, s 270, enabling Ofcom to give public service channels directions as to how to comply with their public service remit, and in the last resort to issue detailed regulations to replace the self-regulatory scheme.
- Lord Hunt has been Chairman of the PCC since 2011. Like Lord Wakeham, a former Chair, he has been a Conservative MP and member of the Cabinet.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 66–67.
- Ibid, 1673–6.
- Ibid, 1674, para 7.3.
- Ibid.
- Ibid, 1674, para 7.5.
- Ibid, 1675, para 7.7.
- Ibid, 67, para 5.11.
- See text above at n 11.
- Former Solicitor-General for Scotland 1974–9 and judge in the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary 1984–2004.
- www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/03/5750. The Expert Group concluded that legislation along the lines recommended in the Report 'would be consistent with the long-established civil and democratic practice whereby the Legislature intervenes to curb intolerable intrusions upon the established rights of citizens': para 27.
- Art 24, as amended by law of 1 July 1972 (hate speech) and Arts 29–32 (defamation).
- See eg Baden-Württemberg Gesetz über die Presse of 14 January 1964, Art 6 (duty of care in reporting), Art 11 (right of reply) and Arts 13–14 (seizure of press documents).
- Leveson Report (n 6) 67, fn 32.
- Human Rights Act 1998, s 12(4).
- Data Protection Act 1998, s 32.
- See Joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons [2010–12], Privacy and Injunctions (HL Paper 273, HC 1443), paras 33–41.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 67, para 5.15.
- Ibid, 1780, para 6.40 (see also Executive Summary (n 1) para 72).
- Ibid, para 6.41.
- Human Rights Act 1998, s 3.
- See eg the judgment in the leading defamation case, Lingens v Austria (1986) 8 EHRR 40, paras 41–42.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 1771.
- Ibid, 1671, para 6.1.
- Defamation Act 2009, s 26(2)(f). If the defendant is not a member, the courts shall take account of any adherence to equivalent standards: Ibid, s 26(2)(g). There is a full discussion of the position in Ireland in Part K, ch 5.
- Executive Summary (n 1) paras 66–70.
- Crime and Courts Act 2013, ss 34–40.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 1771–2, paras 6.2–6.5.
- See text at n 26 above.
- Leveson Report (n 6) 1752, para 3.7 (Sir Christopher Meyer); 1756, para 3.26 (Kenneth Clarke MP).
- Ibid, 1756, para 3.27.
- Ibid, 1757, paras 3.33–3.34, and Executive Summary (n 1) paras 74–75.
- Report of the Expert Group (n 38) paras 35–37.
- Crime and Courts Act 2013, s 41 and Sched 15.
Journal of Media Law
Volume 5, 2013 - Issue 2