Proposals to create an early determination stage in defamation claims will only increase the cost of proceedings, a leading media lawyer said today. Iain Wilson, managing partner of media firm Brett Wilson and vice chair of The Society of Media Lawyers was responding to the tabling of the latest private members' bills aimed at curbing so called SLAPP claims.
Wilson said: 'Defamation law was overhauled in 2014 and is already finely balanced between claimant and defendant rights. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.' Whether a publication is in the public interest is a matter for trial, he said. 'Provisions already exist to strike out claims that clearly lack merit or are abusive. Adding an extra stage of litigation will simply add to the complexity and cost of proceedings.'
A Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill was tabled in the Lords by Baroness Stowell (Tina Stowell) on Tuesday. It was followed by a draft bill by Conservative MP Sir John Whittingdale, who was among the MPs to be drawn in the private members' bill ballot. They are part of a renewed campaign led by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition for law reform, following the omission of legislation from the latest King's speech.
Commenting on the move, Wilson said: 'Most campaigners appear to have either finally accepted that relatively few "SLAPP claims" are actually issued in court or have declined to produce evidence to support the proposition that the courts are awash with SLAPPs. Their more recent focus has been on how they say the threat of legal action can have a chilling effect. If this is really where the mischief lies (and proper independent research is required here), legislation focused strictly on claims that have already been issued in court seems pointless.
'It is disappointing that politicians seem so susceptible to media lobbying designed to soften defamation law, yet appear to have little interest in consulting with lawyers who act for victims of media/online abuse.'
3 Readers' comments