The UK government has announced there will be no new Leveson inquiry into press conduct ... Defamation costs regime under s.40 of the Crime and Courts Act to be repealed ... Press regulation in abeyance despite overwhelming community support for Leveson 2 ... Government appeasement of the publishers ... From Paul Magrath of the Transparency Project ... more
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A crisis in reporting the courts
The Society of Editors in the UK recently hosted a seminar at the offices of the Telegraph Group in London about the decline in court reporting ... Paul Magrath, Alice Twaite and Judith Townend were there, representing the Transparency Project ... more
Judge-alone hearings to prevail in Federal Court defamation trials
Full Federal Court delivers another blow to uniform defamation law, finding the Federal Court's judge-alone provisions prevail over any in the Defamation Act 2005 with regard to juries ... Sydney University media law academic Professor David Rolph examines the judgment and its implications ... more
Tariq Alsaifi v Trinity Mirror plc & Board of Directors, and the Secretary of State for Education
Attempt to re-litigate a failed defamation claim over the same material is dismissed as an abuse of process - but not of the Jameel variety ... Media Lawyer's Mike Dodd reports on an interesting decision from one of the UK High Court's newest (and youngest) judges, Matthew Nicklin ... more
Defamation claim against Westpac employee an abuse of process
NSW District Court dismisses defamation claim against Westpac employee over a letter sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service ... The action was an abuse of process and motivated by an improper purpose ... Nicholas Bonyhady reports ... more
Suppression city
The same old non-publication order regime emerges early in 2017 … Media succeeds in revoking one set of orders involving the trial on murder charges of Sydney property developer Ron Medich … Otherwise, open justice is closed for business ... more
Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v Telstra Corporation
Federal Court of Australia orders internet providers to block access to torrenting and movie streaming sites … They are in breach of a new provision in the Copyright Act 1968 ... Naaman Zhou reports a decision which also let VPNs off the hook ... more