Global Chilling Update: Major Libel Ruling in London

The House of Lords has issued an important, liberalizing interpretation of its libel law today. The House of Lords, the U.K.’s highest court, ruled that British journalists may now publish allegations about public figures without fear of libel claims, provided that they acted responsibly and in the public interest in carrying out their reporting. This ruling brings English defamation law much more in line with US defamation law.

We don’t yet know whether or how the ruling will apply to book publishing, but we’re trying to find out more information.

For the full story, go to the London Times: article. You’ll see that our panelist Mark Stephens was one of the lawyers for the Wall Street Journal Europe and is quoted in the piece.