ATTEMPTS to end the so called libel lottery in Britain will be watched with interest by the media in Ireland, where libel is costing national newspapers over £3 million a year.
Senior judges in Britain have laid down new guidelines which it is believed will have the effect of lowering the cost of awards.
The guidelines were given in a ruling just before Christmas in an appeal taken by the Sunday Mirror, which lost a case to the singer Elton John over a report which it carried in 1993 claiming that the singer was suffering from a form of bulimia.
Elton John was awarded £350,000. However, in a milestone decision the appeal court cut the award to £75,000. The singer has indicated that he will appeal to the House of Lords.
While the reduction was itself unusual, more significant still were the guidelines handed down by the Master of the Rolls, Sir Thomas Bingham, Lord justice Neil and Lord Justice Hirst. The three judges said that lawyers should make positive suggestions to juries in relation to the level of damages they consider appropriate.
Under the guidelines juries can be informed of other awards and attention can be drawn to the level of awards made in personal injury cases, in an effort to end the situation whereby juries often award more for a libel than a person seriously injured might get in compensation.
The guidelines were made following of Human Rights case concern in Count Nicholas Tolstoy and Lord Aldrington, where an award of more than £1 million was made.
The European Court ruled that guidelines should be issued and that guidance should be given to juries. Very high awards were an infringement of freedom of expression, the court said.
In Ireland the Government promised to reform the libel laws last February when the Progressive Democrats brought forward a Bill. The Government asked that it be withdrawn and said that it would bring forward a Bill within nine months. That has not taken place.
The Law Reform Commission has also called for reform.
According to a media law expert, Mrs Marie McGonagle, of University College Galway, Irish law should be in line with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights as Ireland is a signatory of the European Convention of Human Rights. The report that she co wrote on press freedom and libel in 1988 called for some practical criteria for juries in assessing damages.
The Supreme Court also called for guidelines for juries in libel cases some years ago. In a case against the Evening Herald it said that juries should be given guidelines and that damages were compensation, not punishment.
The Commission on the Newspaper Industry is examining libel and defamation as part of its brief. It was due to report this month, but it is now believed that its final recommendations will not be made until April or May.