If you think our press is bad….. Human Rights V National Sovereignty
14/09/12
Fact
Today a French Newspaper has carried a topless photo of the Duchess of Cambridge with our Future King the Duke, Prince William Wales. Like previous photos of other Royals (including his mother) it was taken on a beach on private land.
Questions:
1) What actions can they take and what are the policy implications on the publishing laws of the UK and Commonwealth states?
2) How does this affect other Royal families and is the concept of Press retaliation a stupid idea under UK Company Law as a waste of economic resources?
Should the Royal Couple wish to pursue this they have two main options, French National Law or European as EU citizens unless they want to get leave in court under the notion of British legal supremacy (less used and now deemed contentious since the replacement of Empire with Commonwealth).
They do this as UK and EU citizens, confirm that the photos are genuinely of them and then pursue parallel legal action other than acknowledging the decision not to publish by UK papers. When a UK newspaper does this it is part of their voluntary code post topless photos of the Duchess of York and Diana Princess of Wales were published in the 1990s, causing emotional heartache at the time and an imperfect press system since (but better than other countries with either press that operate at the head of states / dictators whim or publish loads of photos and have a ‘Royals gallery as the UK press did after the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales.
The preventative injunction is thus a limitation exercise and the only measure required in UK law in the first instance.
In a French situation, had a crime taken place, what next after that, criminal and civil or just civil law and then if the matter is not adequately resolved, appeal to the European court of justice. There is also the separate European court on human rights, the conscience of all europe’ founded after nuremburg. To prevent other royals and their intelligence agencies playing tit for tat with their press and magazines, this might be a good idea.
This law is also carried through into uk law as treaty law and the 1999 westminster statute on human rights.
However the limitations of this are manifest with laws on press law varying as each state has differing reasons for their nudity publication laws ranging from their naturism, holiday sector laws and stemming from differing ages of consent for marriage and relationships of a sexual nature. The last are moderated at EU level through counselling an therapy at each legal jurisdiction and are assieted by the Samaritans. However in the UK the difficulty is that this law can work full circle with porn magazines being produced through the state sector and funded as part of regulation as I understand it.
As such these are assisted by the Samaritans and Childline and Internet Watch Foundation and Child Online and Protection ctte. This has the additional effect of assisting in the UK of allowing any children of models to be brought up as the mother chooses within the grace of the law as passed by parliament and implemented through the church, faith and third sector within England. They then can make the adult decision when they reach 18 and move out as they become carers for grand parents while distance learning or part time external students in employment re also being models. Full time students need to be treated as adults as they have a 21/24 criteria in the UK under the state law. That is our own class system distinction in state law for students and citizens.
The trouble is that when students pose under 18 the title has / had the potential to lose the credibility of the state system and those that it funds. Whether that is by fault or design is beyond my fathoming. We are all human and the only sure thing is that one generation replaces the last through love. I hope I can love and be loved by mine. That is why I don’t like 18eighteen.com so much because what it showed me about being attracted to women younger than postgrads when I was reaching 30 as well as all older ages as much as who produced it.
Last point the foreign press can with their lampooning and photos and the like raise shareholdings and collapse things on European markets so some sort of global standards of human rights are needed.
James Ware
