The pilot scheme brings to life one of the key recommendations of the 2012 Leveson Report by creating a lower-cost forum for resolving disputes involving British publishers. Overseen by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, the pilot scheme will service a variety of potential legal disputes including but not limited to defamation, intrusion of privacy, misuse of private information, breach of confidence, harassment and data protection claims. Claims will cost £300 if the matter can be resolved in a preliminary hearing, increasing to £2,800 for a full hearing. Damages to be paid by publishers as a result of the arbitration process will be capped at a maximum of £50,000. The Daily Mail, the Telegraph, The Times, the Daily Mirror and The Sun are among the newspapers and tabloids that have already signed up to take part in the pilot scheme, as well as magazine publisher Condé Nast UK.
Going far enough?
The scheme hopes to boost access to justice for members of the British public with grievances against the media by keeping down the costs involved in pursuing legal action. Though voluntary participants in the scheme will be bound by the decisions of CEDR arbitrators, some lawyers don’t believe that the arbitration scheme can deliver meaningful accountability for controversy-ridden media publishers. ‘A year down the line will this scheme have made a difference? Or will the public reman misinformed and misled, savaged and abused by the word excesses of the press?’ wonders Withers head of media and reputation Amber Melville-Brown in Legal Business.
Sources: Legal Business; The Guardian
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