Court of Appeal Judgment on injunction - John Hemming comment

Comment by John Hemming: "The Court of Appeal are right to strike down the injunction. They are also right, however, to give leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. This issue needs to be resolved such that it is not subject to an almost immediate challenge. People generally need to know that they do not face jail for joking and gossiping. The media need to know what they can write without having to spend shedloads of cash with legal advisers before they put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). The powerful need to know that if they don't want something on the front page of the newspaper they should not do it."

"In the end it is more important that this issue is properly resolved than it is resolved quickly. We need an answer that allows people to go about their daily lives knowing what the law is. There have been too many injunctions recently and that needs to come to an end."

"Additionally there is a difference between the way in which the European Court of Human Rights interpret qualified rights. Most judicial systems are subject to correction by a legislature, but the European Court is immune from any comments by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The result of this is that the judges can be more inclined to judicial activism away from general popular and democratic consent. That is an issue that clearly needs resolving."