Time for a freshen up? UK libel laws are widely felt to be unfair, expensive and out of date.
Yesterday the UK Government launched the first draft of a bill that could change UK libel law. Backed by scientists, journalists, public figures, politicians and many more, the Libel Reform Campaign has been fighting for a change in the laws they describe as “unjust, against the public interest and internationally criticised” for nearly two years.
The campaign, a coalition of Index on Censorship, English PEN and Sense About Science, lobbied Parliament last week to present MPs with the blueprint, What should a Defamation Bill contain? and explain why they should support the changes.
“Companies are simply trying to shut us down, rather than engaging,” commented Martyn Hocking, Editor of Which? magazine. He, along with many others, felt they spent too much time and money on court cases - money which could be put to better use.
Charmian Gooch, founder and director of the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated campaign Global Witness, highlighted the costs involved:
“We can’t afford the funds and it’s chilling freedom of speech.”
The blueprint is the latest in a series of reports to highlight the problems with the current system, including a report published by the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee which labeled the laws an embarrassment to Britain’s reputation for freedom of speech, and a detailed Public Member’s Bill drafted by Lord Lester of Herne Hill.
Libel Tourism
One of the major problems faced by those in the UK is “libel tourism”, where wealthy overseas companies or individuals actively seek out cases to bring to court in this country.
The campaign groups will no doubt be pleased to see that this is one of the areas the new draft addresses, along with the requirement of evidence that the statement has caused “substantial harm”.
Stifling academic debate
Some of the key cases during the campaign have been those of Simon Singh and Peter Wilmshurst, where large corporations have sued individuals for stating their views. The Libel Reform Campaign feel this stifles scientific debate, and while the draft does clarify the public interest defense, they believe this section of the bill “needs more work to give proper protection to ‘citizen critics’”.
“We want a law to ask ‘Is it true?’, rather than ‘Will they sue?’” said Tracey Brown, Managing Director of Sense About Science.
A law for a digital age
However, a number of other issues are only included as topics for consultation, rather than in the draft itself. These include a faster court process to reduce the length and cost of proceedings, and the issue of publication on the Internet.
“We’re not a publisher in that sense and we’re frequently asked to remove posts,” said Justine Roberts of the blogging network Mumsnet, “the laws need updating for a digital age.”
At the advent of these libel laws, this was not an issue, and there have been struggles to implement the existing statutes with regards to online cases.
The defamation bill is now in the consultation stage, and supporters have been urged to get involved – as many have commented, this is a once in a generation chance and it is imperative that the Government gets it right.
John Kampfner, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship, knows the scale of the task awaiting them in the coming years, closing the lobby with the words: “We have only just begun.”
Image: Courtesy of Ken Walker [email protected] via Wikimedia Commons
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