Claire Overman and Andrew Wheelhouse - 27th April 2017
On 9 March 2017, the Third Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) declared inadmissible a complaint by the applicant, Mr Pihl, that his right to respect for his private life had been violated. He had complained to the ECtHR that Swedish legislation preventing him from holding a non-for-profit association responsible for a […]
Alvin Attalo - 21st April 2017
The Kenyan High court has, in a recent decision, struck a blow for freedom of expression. The case, Jacqueline Okuta& another v Attorney General & 2 others , sought to challenge the constitutionality of the offence of criminal defamation created under the provisions of section 194 of the Penal Code. The petitioners in this case instituted […]
Vrinda Bhandari - 4th April 2017
Although the Legislature and the Executive are the subject of regular political satire in India, last month the courts showed that contempt powers can be used to create a hitherto-unknown zone of immunity around the judiciary and legal profession in India. The case of Jolly LLB-2 The case involved the movie “Jolly LLB-2”. Here, a […]
Laurence Wilkinson - 17th March 2017
France is set to introduce a controversial new law which criminalizes the online ‘obstruction’ of abortion. The legislation will extend existing provisions that have made it a criminal offence in France to physically intimidate or pressure a woman with a view to stopping her from having an abortion. The original law was intended to prevent […]
Rory Kelly - 9th February 2017
In September a new batch of research assistants started at the Law Commission in London. Having collected them from reception, I brought them over to meet the rest of the criminal law team, and said, ‘Everybody, this is K and S, they’re new.’ At first glance, this appears to be a relatively innocuous encounter. However, […]
Lucy Maxwell - 19th January 2017
If access to government information is “necessary” for you to investigate and communicate about matters of “obvious public interest”, you may have a right to that information, according to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. In a much-anticipated judgment, the Grand Chamber has found that the right to freedom of expression […]
Karina Banfi - 25th November 2016
Argentina has taken a big step towards government transparency and accountability by enacting, on September 29th 2016, its very own Law on Right of Access to Information. This long-awaited law regulates the right of access to information, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and re-use information held not only by public authorities from the executive branch, […]
Mohd Owais Farooqui - 7th October 2016
Drones can be used for journalism, alongside many other civilian purposes. Ethical considerations such as safety and privacy are likely to arise in the context of drone journalism. This raises pertinent questions of whether journalists can use drones at all and whether capturing pictures in public places by drones is permissible under Indian law. Drone […]
Claire Overman and Andrew Wheelhouse - 8th September 2016
On 19 May 2016, the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in PJS v News Group Newspapers Limited. This decision concerned the proposed publication of details concerning the extramarital activities of PJS, an individual in the entertainment industry married to a well-known celebrity. News Group Newspapers (“NGN”) had notified PJS that it proposed to publish […]
Tamas Szigeti - 16th March 2016
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in MTE and Index.hu v Hungary (“MTE/Index”) issued a decision protecting free speech in the form of user-generated online comments. In particular, the judges courageously confronted complicated questions of online speech instead of taking refuge in the complacent argument of censoring any bad speech. MTE/Index concerned two offensive […]
Claire Overman and Andrew Wheelhouse - 14th March 2016
Almost four years after its initial proposal in January 2012, the finalised text of the General Data Protection Regulation (the Regulation) was agreed in December 2015. It is anticipated to enter into force in January 2018, bringing with it some major changes to the current European data protection regime. One such change is in the […]
Sakshi Aravind - 15th February 2016
Control over cyber space and information, particularly citizens’ data, has defined modern strategies of combating terrorism through technologies. Justifications provided for extensive surveillance legislation that may impinge civil liberties have been riveted on states’ responsibility to adopt counter-terrorism mechanisms. This has resulted in deeply problematic restraints on media freedom and free speech. One such piece […]