The law of privacy is rapidly developing in the UK and complements the law of libel as an important legal protection for the individual. The law has its origins in the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees an individual's right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. Against this, the Convention also guarantees freedom of expression (in a similar way to the US First Amendment).

The balance in the UK is drawn by reviewing whether an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning the disclosure in question. If so, the next question is whether there is nevertheless a public interest in disclosure. This difficult balance has featured in a number of recent cases, notably Max Mosley -v- News Group Newspapers and Gulati –v- MGN.

We have considerable experience of advising both publishers and individuals in breach of privacy cases. We can act to obtain remedies including injunctions, undertakings and damages in appropriate cases.