Freedom of speech

It was established law that for the court to comply with its obligations under s 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, it had to hold that a course of conduct in the form of journalistic speech was reasonable under s 1(3)(c) of the 1998 Act unless, in the particular circumstances of the case, the course of conduct was so unreasonable that it was necessary and proportionate to prohibit or sanction the speech in pursuit of one of the aims listed in Art 10(2) of the Convention, including, in particular, for the protection of the rights of others under Art 8 of the Convention. The test required the publisher to consider whether a proposed series of articles, which was likely to cause distress to an individual, would constitute an abuse of the freedom of the press which the pressing social needs of a democratic society required should be curbed. In considering the effect of a course of conduct which consisted of