Article 10, the Reynolds Test and the Rule in the Duke of Brunswick’s Case European Human Rights Law Review, Issue 3 of 2006 (July 2006, Rory Dunlop)

Articles31st July 2006

This case analysis was originally published in the European Human Rights Law Review, Issue 3 of 2006.

The article looks at the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Times Newspaper Ltd v the United Kingdom.  In this case, the Times sought to challenge two important aspects of the English law of defamation:  the Reynolds test for qualified privilege and the rule in the Duke of Brunswick’s case. The Court decided that the criticisms of the Reynolds test were manifestly ill-founded but left open the question of whether the rule in the Duke of Brunswick’s case was compatible with Article 10.  This analysis examines the Court’s reasoning in relation to the Reynolds test and argues that the Court should find the rule in the Duke of Brunswick’s case to be incompatible with Article 10.