header-logo header-logo

Clash of the Titans (2)

29 July 2011 / Stephen Hockman KC
Issue: 7476 / Categories: Opinion , Media
printer mail-detail

Stephen Hockman QC returns to the controversy of privacy, parliament & the courts

In my previous article I pointed out that by its approach to issues of privacy, the media was attempting to gain “significant new ground within our political system”. I had in mind the long campaign of criticism in some parts of the media of judicial decision-making in the field of privacy. A characteristic of this criticism was to allege that judicial decisions on privacy represented “judge-made law” and had no democratic legitimacy. This approach by the media over-looked the fact that Art 8 of the Human Rights Convention, which has been part of our law since the coming into force of the Human Rights Act in the year 2000, guarantees a right to family life save to the extent that this right must necessarily be overridden in a democratic society. However the main theme of my article was the weakness of the political reaction to this tension between the media and the courts: “What is lacking at present, in

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll