Description
In Campbell v MGN [2004] UKHL 22 [51], Lord Hoffman described the focus of the tort of misuse of private information as the ‘protection of human autonomy and dignity – the right to control the dissemination of information about one’s private life’. Twenty years on, the tort has expanded in scope. In ETK v NGN [2011] EWCA Civ 439 [17] an injunction was granted ‘to preserve the stability of the family’. In several further cases the tort has been used to protect the family and its members from intrusion (e.g. Giggs v NGN [2011] EWHC 1232 (QB), AMC and KLJ v NJN [2015] EWHC 2361 (QB), PJS v NGN [2016] UKSC 26 and AXB v BXA [2018] EWHC 588 (QB)).In 2015 Bennett expressed concern about the emergence of what he called a ‘broad tort of disrupting family integrity’. Wragg (2017) has also questioned why, in cases such as PJS, the courts have been prepared to consider the interests of other family members. Exploring the MPI jurisprudence through the lens of family privacy theory, this paper argues that this broader scope is both understandable and justified. The MPI jurisprudence acknowledges the important role the stable family unit may play in society, and the need to protect that family from intrusion. It recognises that ‘it would be an unacceptably narrow interpretation of the meaning of privacy … to confine it to matters concerning the individual complainant and not as extending to his family’ (R v Broadcasting Complaints Commission [1995] EMLR 163).
| Period | 19 Sept 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Campbell at 20: What it means and why it matters |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | London, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |