Leveson Reforms, Editorial Freedom, and Press Discussion of Ordinary Members of the Public
Paul Wragg
Wragg.pdf (508.22 KB)
Leveson Reforms, Editorial Freedom, and Press Discussion of Ordinary Members of the Public

Paul Wragg of the University of Leeds assesses the impact of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations for press regulation on ordinary members of the public.

 

With reference to cases such as the treatment of the transgender primary school teacher Lucy Meadows by the Daily Mail, he argues that any future regulator will struggle to achieve any meaningful change to the ‘cultural indifference to individual privacy and dignity’ shown by sections of the press, given Leveson’s failure to clearly define, yet insistence on preserving, press partisanship. 

ALSO OF INTEREST
Policy Brief
Media Law after Leveson: A view from the coalface

In this policy brief, the Guardian’s Director of Editorial Legal Services Gillian Phillips presents her perspective on the post-Leveson media law landscape, arguing that journalists are being submerged in a complex network of more and more law and regulation, which threatens not only to restrict but to criminalize journalists’ conduct.

Download
Policy Brief
Is there still an Economic Right to Water?
This policy brief addresses how the meaning and scope of farmers’ economic rights to access and use water are changing through increasing emphasis on stewardship responsibilities. It outlines how regulation is increasingly seeking closer alignment of water use and stewardship by injecting public interest considerations into the legal interpretation of water rights. This has the potential to enhance the public accountability of private right holders.
Download
Policy Brief
The Risk vs Hazard Debate: Reconciling Inconsistencies in Health & Safety Regulation within the UK and across the EU

Dr Sweta Chakraborty reviews the current debate over health & safety regulation, representing the views of academics, regulators, government, and lawyers, including the British Safety Council and the Health and Safety Executive.

 

The policy brief recommends a more lenient approach to regulation based on risk management rather than hazard classifications. It reinforces recommendations made in the Löfstedt Report, which have been adopted in the Government Response and reflected in David Cameron's pledge to "tackle the health and safety monster".

Download
Policy Brief
Private Rights and Public Responsibilities: Recent developments in Scots water law
Water law has been the subject of considerable attention in the Scottish Parliament since its re-establishment in 1999, with five Water Acts passed in that time. 
 
This policy brief examines these recent reforms and considers whether there has been a shift from private rights to private responsibilities, or perhaps, from private rights to public rights, over water resources in Scotland.
 
The brief will also consider what lessons may be learned in England from the introduction in Scotland of limited competition in retail
Download