Landmark libel case goes to Court of Appeal
Monday, 21 January 2008
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An appeal against a legal action that saw an Ulster businessman awarded £25,000 damages and could have profound implications on Press freedom in the UK and beyond, is to be held in Belfast this week.
The Irish News is set to go to the Court of Appeal on Wednesday in a bid to
overturn the court decision to pay damages over a review of a local
restaurant held to be defamatory.
The newspaper had printed a
review of Belfast's Goodfellas restaurant by food critic Caroline Workman in
August 2000.
Owner Ciaran Convery called the review a "hatchet
job" and sued for libel.
His legal team said the review was
defamatory, damaging and hurtful and demanded an apology or a retraction.
A year ago, a jury returned a unanimous verdict that the review contained
defamatory comments and said the paper should pay Mr Convery the damages
plus court costs.
However, the Irish News vowed to appeal, claiming
that the result had raised "profound questions involving the freedom of
the Press".
The case has had newspaper editors up in arms and
attracted international attention; with papers including the New York Times
covering the verdict and its implications for book and art critics around
the world.
Lord Lester QC, an architect of the UK Human Rights Act,
will lead the appeal.
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