The contest for a new law of privacy. A battle won, a war lost? Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Limited (2004) UKHL 22

摘要

It was, most agreed, the highest profile privacy decision since the Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta Jones v Hello case. It was also the first for some time to go all the way to the House of Lords. However, fascinating as its cast of opposing characters may be, and despite the acres of media coverage in the wake of all three decisions from first instance through the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords, the question still remains as to whether Naomi Campbell's action against the Mirror Group broke new legal ground or not. Did it, as some have argued, bring in a new law of privacy through the human rights back door? Or did it simply clarify the principles of the extant action for breach of confidence? Most crucially, have the boundaries of the protection of privacy now been sufficiently defined to enable the media and celebrities alike to be able accurately to assess the likelihood of success of future actions?