iii)
The material which NGN wishes to publish is still private, in
the sense that it concerns intimate sexual matters. I reject Mr
Millar’s submission that PJS’s article 8 rights are no longer
engaged at all. First, there are still many people, like Mr
Browne’s hypothetical purchaser of the Financial Times, who
do not know about PJS’s sex life. Secondly, NGN’s planned
publication in England will be a further unwelcome intrusion
into the private lives of PJS and his family. On the other hand,
it will not be a shock revelation, as publication in January would
have been. The intrusion into the private lives of PJS and his
family will be an increase of what they are suffering already.
iv)
If the interim injunction stands, newspaper articles will
continue to appear re-cycling the contents of the redacted
judgment and calling upon PJS to identify himself. Websites
discussing the story will continue to pop up. As one is taken
down, another will appear. This process will continue up to the
trial date.
v)
As stated in para 59 of the previous redacted judgment (para 61
of the full judgment), NGN is entitled to publish articles
criticising people in the public eye. Therefore it has an article
10 right to publish an account of PJS’s conduct. That article 10
right has to be balanced against PJS’s article 8 right for his
sexual liaisons to remain a private matter. The need to balance
article 8 rights against article 10 rights means that there is a
limit to how far the courts can protect individuals against the
consequences of their own actions.
vi)
As a result of recent events, the weight attaching to the
claimant’s article 8 right to privacy has reduced. It cannot now
be said that when the day of trial comes, PJS’s article 8 right is
likely to prevail over NGN’s article 10 right to freedom of
expression, such as to warrant the imposition of a permanent
injunction.
vii)
Finally, the court should not make orders which are ineffective.
It is in my view inappropriate (some may use a stronger term)
for the court to ban people from saying that which is common
knowledge. This must be relevant to the exercise of the court's
discretion. Injunctions are a discretionary remedy.
Page 11
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