Overview

There is no statutory law of privacy in the UK. However, following the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 the common law action of breach of confidential information has been adapted to protect private information which is the subject of article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (EC).

A controversial branch of this development has been the increasing number of "super injunctions" granted by UK courts essentially on article 8 grounds. Super injunctions are interim injunctions which prevent the publication of both the information that is judged to be private and the existence of the injunction itself. Max Moseley has sought to further develop the law of privacy by attempting to require the UK government to impose a pre-notification rule.

To continue reading Wragge & Co’s report on the development of privacy law in the UK, click View Briefing.