Privacy, Confidentiality and Horizontality: The Case of the Celebrity Wedding Photographs

Extract

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the first and second claimants, sold the exclusive rights to publish their wedding photographs to OK! magazine, the third claimant; however, in spite of elaborate security arrangements, Hello! magazine obtained unofficial photographs, publication of which the claimants sought to restrain in the present proceedings. Although an injunction was granted at first instance, it was discharged by the Court of Appeal which held that, on the facts, damages would constitute an adequate remedy should the claimants succeed at trial. Given the interlocutory nature of the proceedings, Douglas v. Hello! Ltd. [2001] 2 W.L.R. 992 does not provide determinative answers to the substantive questions raised by the facts. Nevertheless, it supplies useful guidance as to the role of privacy in English law and tentatively addresses the “horizontal effect” of the Human Rights Act 1998 by considering whether that legislation may found claims against private parties as well as public authorities.