Prosecuting the Media: The DPP’s final guidelines – Alex Bailin QC and Edward Craven

Prosecuting the Media: The DPP’s final guidelines – Alex Bailin QC and Edward Craven | Inforrm's Blog: "The guidelines emphasise the need for “special care” in cases which involve the disclosure of journalists’ sources.

The European Court of Human Rights has highlighted the “potentially chilling effect” on press freedom of the forced disclosure of journalists’ sources (see Goodwin v UK (1996) 22 EHRR 123) and the Grand Chamber in Sanoma Uitgevers BV v The Netherlands [2011] EMLR 4 recently emphasised that source protection “is a cornerstone of freedom of the press, without which sources may be deterred from assisting the press in informing the public on matters of public interest”.

In addition, section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides that no court may require a person to disclose the source of information contained in a publication for which they are responsible, unless the court is satisfied that disclosure is necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime." 'via Blog this'