III.

Other Jurisdictions

Countries with written constitutions frequently contain special protection for press freedom. In the United States the 1st Amendment gives constitutional status to press freedom. This means that writers, journalists, and publishers are able to criticize government, free from censorship. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also gives constitutional protection to the press. The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also have specific legislation that protects freedom of information to ensure openness and facilitate press coverage of important issues and events. France has laws that protect the privacy of the individual to an extent that the media feels they significantly hamper its ability to report fully.

The law of defamation serves as a useful illustration of the differing constitutional protections. English law is much more likely to grant an injunction to prevent publication of an alleged libel than many other jurisdictions. In the United States the Supreme Court has held that the 1st Amendment, which protects freedom of the press, restricts liability to cases where a libel has been made maliciously, whereas in the English courts malice need not be shown. A claimant in England need only show that the words complained of are defamatory: honest mistake is no defence.

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998) protects freedom of expression and the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority. As a signatory to this treaty, the United Kingdom is likely to become increasingly influenced by constitutional protections for freedom of the press.

See also Human Rights and Civil Liberties; Media Law.