UK: Mail on Sunday’s court contempt?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on February 9, 2007 at 11:48 AM

The opposite of press censorship, when newspapers can’t express themselves, is press’ contempt of court, when they talk too much. The editor of the Mail on Sunday and a Scottish edition reporter are being charged on those grounds, after publishing the interview of a key witness in a murder trial.

The Crown Office had reiterated its warnings to the paper, reminding it of the risks it caused if it published stories related to the case.

Contempt cases in Scotland are rare. The last condemned newspaper was The Scotsman in 1998.

During a previous case in 1999, the court had ruled the Daily Record not guilty, after judges decided there was little risk of substantial prejudice, a necessary condition for court contempt.

In any case, newspapers and their editors must always find a right balance between incisive carriage of information and non-abuse of their precious press freedom. As important as freedom of speech is to newspapers, they should guarantee the proper functioning of other institutions.

Source: Media Guardian