Britain May Rewrite Controversial Defamation Laws
In an effort to prevent the rich and famous from fighting their defamation battles in U.K. courtrooms, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg promised to introduce a draft bill this spring that could end “libel tourism.”
U.K. defamation laws, called a “laughing stock” by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, may be rewritten, reports Bloomberg. Allowing noncitizens to file libel suits against foreign media outlets, U.K. defamation laws have created legal opportunities for movie stars, billionaires and sheikhs to silence their critics, according to Bloomberg. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. film director Roman Polanski and Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky have won libel cases in the U.K., reports Bloomberg.
Unlike laws in the U.S. and most of continental Europe, the U.K.’s libel law “is plaintiff-friendly, placing the burden of proof on the defendant,” said Bloomberg. Critics of the law point to its outdated, expensive nature, adding that it is only accessible to the rich, reports Bloomberg.
The current law’s proponents suggest that the defamation debate has been blown out of proportion, arguing that only a few libel cases go to trial, according to Bloomberg.
