Category: Seminars, interviews & commentary

Stephen Collins reports from London on how Justice Eady single-handedly resurrected “libel tourism” in the “Magic Alex” case by relying (in part) on the words of our own Justice Ian Callinan – to make an inference too far ... more

Why shouldn’t defamation jurors give their own personal views on meaning? And what part does “public opinion” currently play in a juror’s deliberations? From London, Stephen Collins traverses the uneven ground occupied by the “ordinary person” in the light of the recent and notorious Sachsgate affair ... more

With 2008 limping to a close, the Gazette asked a loose collection of media law luminaries (and others) what they thought were the most significant/interesting developments of the past year. Not unsurprisingly, privacy was a major concern ... more

Media law academic Dr David Rolph compares the UK’s “responsible journalism” qualified privilege defence with Australia’s “reasonableness” qualified privilege defence. He concludes that the consistent failure of the defence in Australia rests squarely with judicial attitudes to the media ... more

The US Congress is considering its own, stronger version of the “libel terrorism” bill introduced in New York State earlier this year. Michael Cameron reports on what it will mean for writers, publishers and foreign plaintiffs ... more

Former NSW defamation judge David Levine reviews Sydney academic Dr David Rolph’s thoroughly modern take on the subject Reputation, Celebrity and Defamation Law and finds it “original, stimulating and thought provoking” ... more

Was the ABC right not to appeal Judge Felicity Hampel’s decision in Doe v ABC? And was Jane Doe’s identity in the public domain simply because she disclosed it to some people? Dr David Rolph takes issue with Stephen Collins, in the light of statutory provisions and the common law ... more

The former head of ABC Legal, Stephen Collins, takes an uncompromising look at the state of privacy here, and in the UK. He argues the ABC got it wrong by not appealing Justice Felicity Hampel’s decision in Jane Doe v ABC and that Britain’s Justice Eady got it right in Mosley v News Group Newspapers. So where’s the rub? ... more

How far should whistleblower protection extend and whom should it embrace? The Australian Press Council’s Policy Officer Inez Ryan looks at the legislative landscape and argues that whistleblower protection which doesn’t include the media is no protection at all ... more

Michael Cameron examines a recent and unanimous Supreme Court of Canada judgment that extended the defence of fair comment. The court affirmed radio jock Rafe Mair’s “right to be unreasonable” without the need to prove his “honest belief” ... more

Stephen Collins, former head of ABC legal, now at Channel 4 in London, looks at a recent UK summary judgment upholding common law qualified privilege and asks why this defence fails so frequently and abysmally in Australia ... more

NSW defamation barristers Terry Tobin QC and Stuart Littlemore QC grapple with the cap on damages, judicial discretion, general verdicts, who owns contextual truth and the proper attribution of malice under the new uniform Defamation Act (2005) ... more