Privacy and press freedom - Raymond Wacks

The Englishman's home is his castle, or so generations of Britons have thought. The British have long been obsessed with privacy and this obsession has provoked considerable debate amongst legislators, lawyers and the media. In recent years, the controversy has raged on, with, on one hand, the media claiming public interest, and on the other, public figures claiming invasion of their privacy. This title argues that the freedom of the press can be reconciled with the right of privacy. Following an account of the justifications for free speech and privacy and a careful analysis of the law, the author argues that the combined force of three recent developments provides adequate means for the exercise of judicial recognition of an individual's right to privacy: the expanding remedy for breach of confidence the revived action for the infliction of emotional distress and the growing influence of international recognition of "privacy", especially the jurisprudence of the European Convention of Human Rights.