‘The law of libel is the instrument of censorship by which dignity—too often pseudo-dignity—is to be upheld.’ That is Michael Rubinstein’s definition in his introduction to this lively and authoritative account Wicked, Wicked Libels (originally published in 1972) of the libel situation in Britain.
‘The law of libel is the instrument of censorship by which dignity—too often pseudo-dignity—is to be upheld.’ That is Michael Rubinstein’s definition in his introduction to this lively and authoritative account Wicked, Wicked Libels (originally published in 1972) of the libel situation in Britain.
The contributors are all actively concerned about libel as a living issue. Michael Rubinstein writes first about ‘the popular appetite for scandal’, and the other contributors view libel from various angles. H. Montgomery Hyde looks at the law of libel itself, Louis Blom-Cooper writes about the conflicts between freer speech and privacy, and Anthony Lincoln discusses the problems facing legal advisers to the press. William Kimber, Richard Ingrams and Cecil H. King look at the subject from the publisher’s point of view. Eugene Gros writes as a successful plaintiff, Louis A. Abraham looks at defamation as contempt of Parliament, and Michael Rubinstein contributes a chapter on book publishing and the law of libel. There are also two important appendices of particular interest: one an account by Harold Laski of a day in court, and the other a Press comment on the PQ 17 case after the hearing in the Court of Appeal.
Arvustused
Review of the first publication:
'the merit of this book lies in its emphasis on libel practice.'
Renn Wortley, Melbourne University Law Review
Introduction: The Popular Appetite for Scandal
1. A Look at the Law
2.
Freer Speech and Privacy
3. Reading between the Lines The Lawyers and the
News Desk
4. Libel A Book Publishers View
5. Eye Witness
6. News and Abuse
7. A Libel Case as seen by a Successful Plaintiff
8. The Writer and the Writ
9. Defamation as Contempt of Parliament Appendix I: May Day in Court Appendix
II: Punitive Damages and the PQ 17 Libel Case
Michael Rubinstein was a solicitor who specialized in representing publishers and authors including Chatto & Windus, Sidgwick & Jackson, Hodder & Stoughton, Jonathan Cape, Victor Gollancz, and Penguin Books. He served the Society for the Promotion of New Music as trustee, chairman, and then vice-president.
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