MNB v News Group Newspapers Ltd

MNB v News Group Newspapers Ltd

The court held that the purpose of the interim order was to prevent publication of information that identified or tended to identify the Claimant, including through jigsaw identification. The article published by the Defendant contained details falling within this category and thus breached the intended protection of the order. The Claimant was likely to succeed at trial in obtaining such an order, and there was no sufficient public interest to justify the interference with his Article 8 rights. The continued publication increased the risk of identification, justifying further restraint.

Parties
Claimant: MNB; Defendant: News Group Newspapers Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
09 March 2011
Procedural Posture
Civil / Interlocutory Application for Interim Injunction and Reporting Restrictions
Outcome
Interim injunction continued; further order to be made restraining publication and requiring removal of the article in its current form.
Legal Topics
Interim Injunctions, Reporting Restrictions, Article 8 ECHR, Article 10 ECHR, Anonymity Orders, Jigsaw Identification, Open Justice, Public Interest Defence
Media Law Privacy Law Human Rights Interim Injunctions Reporting Restrictions Article 8 ECHR Article 10 ECHR Anonymity Orders +3 more

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Parties

MNB

Claimant

News Group Newspapers Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Interlocutory Application for Interim Injunction and Reporting Restrictions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether publication of the article breached the interim injunction and/or misused private information
  2. 2 Whether further publication should be restrained and the article removed from the Defendant’s website
  3. 3 Whether the hearing should be held in private and the extent of reporting restrictions

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the purpose of the interim order was to prevent publication of information that identified or tended to identify the Claimant, including through jigsaw identification. The article published by the Defendant contained details falling within this category and thus breached the intended protection of the order. The Claimant was likely to succeed at trial in obtaining such an order, and there was no sufficient public interest to justify the interference with his Article 8 rights. The continued publication increased the risk of identification, justifying further restraint.

Court Disposition

Interim injunction continued; further order to be made restraining publication and requiring removal of the article in its current form.

Orders

  • The interim injunction prohibiting publication of information identifying or tending to identify the Claimant is continued until trial or further order.
  • The Defendant is restrained from further publication of the article in its current form and must remove it from its website.