The European Ct. of Human Rights as issued an interesting decision that
could have an impact on UK libel laws and the Armstong libel case. The
finding that the pamphlet in this case was true, may bring this closer to US
libel law. Sandy, is there an easy way to get a copy of this decision.
Thanks.
'McLibel' pair win legal aid case
Two environmental campaigners should have been awarded legal aid in their
long-running fight against a McDonald's libel action, a court has found.
The European Court of Human Rights said the lack of such aid effectively
denied the pair the right to a fair trial.
Helen Steel and David Morris, from London, were dubbed the "McLibel Two" in
a 1990s trial, which found them guilty of libelling the company.
The pair had been handing out leaflets called "What's Wrong with
McDonald's".
The Strasbourg court's verdict is the end of a subsequent courtroom fight in
which the activists accused the UK Government of breaching their human
rights.
It ruled they did not receive a fair trial as guaranteed under the Human
Rights Convention, to which the UK is a signatory, and that their freedom of
expression was violated by the 1997 judgment.
The pair had argued the UK's libel laws, which did not allow them legal aid,
denied them freedom of speech.
The legal wrangle - the longest civil or criminal action in English legal
history - was triggered when McDonald's decided to act against former
gardener Helen Steel, 39, and former postman David Morris, 50.
Libellous leaflets
The leaflets they handed out, containing damaging allegations about
McDonald's, were compiled by London Greenpeace - which is not linked to the
Greenpeace International environmental group.
Neither Ms Steel nor Mr Morris had any hand in writing the leaflets, but
became embroiled in a libel action launched in 1990 and which ended only in
1997 - with a total of 314 days spent in court.
We believe there's an alternative where people and communities have
control over decision-making and resources
David Morris
High Court judge Mr Justice Bell ruled McDonald's had been libelled and
awarded the company £60,000 in damages, which was later reduced to £40,000
on appeal.
But he found the leaflet was true when it accused McDonald's of paying low
wages to its workers, being responsible for cruelty to some of the animals
used in its food products and exploiting children in advertising campaigns.
The case is thought to have cost the fast food giant £10m and was described
as "the biggest corporate PR disaster in history".
'Huge power'
In the Human Rights court case, Ms Steel and Mr Morris, both from Tottenham,
north London, argued that the government breached their human rights by
failing to make legal aid available and because the libel laws obliged them
to justify every word of anti-McDonald's allegations contained in the
leaflets they distributed.
Their legal team said multinational companies should not be allowed to sue
for libel because they wield huge power over people's lives and the
environment and therefore should be open to scrutiny and criticism.
But government lawyers argued that campaigners for social justice are
subject to the same laws of libel as anyone else, even when wealthy
multinational corporations are their targets.
'Corporate responsibility'
Before Tuesday's verdict, David Morris told the BBC he felt the pair had
already won.
"There's growing public concern and debate about the activities of the fast
food industry and multinational corporations in general," he said.
"We feel completely vindicated by our stance.
"We shouldn't have had to fight the longest case in legal history just to
challenge a multinational corporation and put our point of view over.
"We can see the effects of not just what McDonald's are doing but what all
multinationals are doing to our planet.
"We believe there's an alternative where people and communities have control
over decision-making and resources."
The pair's lawyer Mark Stephens said: "Helen and David will be remembered
for having raised the issue of corporate social responsibility, because when
this case first began we did not look at large global corporations and the
way they treated food products. "
--
How strange when an illusion dies, it's as though you've lost a child.--Judy
Garland