Thread by @royal_suitor

“Last wk judgment was handed down in the case of HRH #DuchessOfSussex v ANL. The DoS, otherwise known as #MeghanMarkle, was successful in her application for summary judgment in her privacy & copyright claims (save for 1 tech pt in relation to the latter)” holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2021/news/law-…

The starting pt is clear enough: we have known for a long time that personal correspondence Btwn individuals is private and there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of it. That reasonable expectation of privacy can only be overcome if it is in the public interest”

“Some legal commentators are hailing this judgment as a disastrous ruling for the press & a win for PR specialists...Others...are pointing out that the correspondence in question would always have been deemed to be pvt, subject to the public interest overriding that assumption.””

“In reality, this case was decided entirely on its facts, & the judgment doesn’t change the laws of privacy or copyright.That said, in practice this ruling should act as a reminder to journalists that personal correspondence is inherently private”

“any public interest justification for publication must be extremely strong – and even then, any publication must be proportionate and not excessive.”

“Does the ruling mean that leaked documents and correspondence relating to government business or elected figures and their political and business dealings will be subject to the same treatment by the Courts? Well no, probably not.”

“In those cases, it is likely to be business as usual. But as ever, the issue which will have concentrated the minds of senior journalists and executives is the costs order that was also made in favour of the Duchess.”

“With press speculation putting her legal fees at several millions of 💷, the outcome provides just as much food for thought for finance teams as for journos. So all in all, the judgment is a significant reminder that private correspondence has to be treated with the utmost care”