The 2004 decision of the House of Lords in Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers was a significant case regarding privacy, and for human rights law and tort law more generally. Its influence is clear in current debates on the future of the Human Rights Act (particularly as we approach the General Election), and the relationship between the press, the State and the public. The legal status of the cause of action for ‘misuse of private information’ recognised in the decision has provoked significant debate, in the courts and in universities. A decade on, it is appropriate to reflect on both the case and its influence, both in domestic law and across the common law world.
At this one-day conference at Newcastle Law School, Campbell‘s legacy will be debated by a range of speakers. Keynote addresses will be given by Dr Nicole Moreham (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) and Keith Schilling.
Nicole Moreham is a globally-recognised scholar of privacy law, and co-editor of and contributor to the second edition of key reference work The Law of Privacy and the Media. She has published numerous articles on the protection of privacy in England and Wales, New Zealand, and Europe. Her other research interests include the law of tort and media law.
Keith Schilling (who represented Ms Campbell in the case) is the chair and founding partner of Schillings. A leading practitioner in the field, he has spent three decades specialising in the law relating to privacy and reputation, and continues to represent a number of high-profile and celebrity clients.
Other confirmed speakers include Gavin Phillipson (Durham), Paul Wragg (Leeds), Jacob Rowbottom (Oxford), Eric Descheemaeker (Edinburgh) and Patrick O’Callaghan (Cork).
Registration for the conference (online at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nuls/; contact law.events@newcastle.ac.uk with any queries) opens on 2 March 2015 and closes on 10 April 2015. Registration is free for academics. A nominal fee of £25 is charged to practising barristers and solicitors, for whom evidence of attendance will be provided in recognition of participation in 5 hours of learning and development. All registered delegates will have the option to attend a conference dinner on Friday evening, at a cost of an additional £25.
We can accommodate a small number of additional papers within our schedule, on themes within the scope of the conference title. Proposals in the form of a title and abstract (approximately 250 words) should be submitted to law.events@newcastle.ac.uk by 9am on 27 February 2015. Papers may be considered for inclusion in a special section of a future issue of the Journal of Media Law.
This conference is organised by Tom Bennett and Daithí Mac Síthigh. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Newcastle University Conference Support Scheme, Schillings, and the Journal of Media Law (Hart Publishing).
First posted 2015-02-13 14:26:55
Leave a Reply