Interesting People mailing list archives
Re: British libel law strikes again
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 14:07:58 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Paul Davey <ip () pdc co uk> Date: June 7, 2009 11:13:09 AM EDT To: dave () farber net Subject: Re: [IP] British libel law strikes againAs well as going to the Court of Appeal over this ruling Simon Singh has now launched a campaign to reform the English libel laws.
The reform activity is being co-ordinated by Sense About Science - see http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/333/Sense About Science is an independent charitable trust promoting good science and evidence in public debates. (It has for example provided information on bird flu, detox, stem cell research and nuclear science, and helping the public assess claims about cures and treatments for long-term conditions.)
So IP readers who believe it is "inappropriate to use the English libel laws to silence critical discussion of medical practice and scientific evidence" can add their names to the campaign can add their names. There are many international scientists and other notable people already listed.
There was an interview with Singh about this on the BBC radio programme Material World broadcast on 2009-06-04 see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kpzdj (it also available to listen on line - at least in the UK)
There are some details of the case and why he expects his application to the Court of Appeal to fail - on this page: http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/340 - He also has a supporting Facebook group.
kind regards paul davey 2009/5/9 David Farber <dave () farber net> Begin forwarded message: From: "Wendy M. Grossman" <wendyg () pelicancrossing net> Date: May 9, 2009 8:33:32 AM EDT To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: British libel law strikes again Reply-To: wendyg () pelicancrossing net For IP if you wish:On Thursday, the British judge Sir David Eady made a disturbing and alarming ruling in a libel case brought by the British Chiropractic Association against Simon Singh (www.simonsingh.net), author of many science books including Fermat's Last Theorem and, germane to this case, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (cu-author Edzard Ernst). Singh also writes for the Guardian, and the libel case turned on a statement he made in a piece he wrote on chiropractic for the Guardian's comment pages.
The legal blogger Jack of Kent explains the legal ins and outs of this ruling much better than I can in two posts. The first is a summary of what happened at the hearing on Thursday; the second opens the discussion of Singh's options:
http://jackofkent.blogspot.com/2009/05/bca-v-singh-astonishingly-illiberal.html http://jackofkent.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-should-simon-singh-do-next.htmlBriefly, the judge ruled that Singh's use of the term "bogus" for chiropractic in certain circumstances was a statement of fact rather than a comment, which under the British legal system puts Singh in an impossible position: at a trial he would have to prove that the *judge's* interpretation of what he said is factually true. He can appeal the ruling, but because it hinges on the *meaning* of the passage at issue, apparently it's very rare for this sort of ruling to be overturned.
If it stands, the ruling is bad enough for Singh, who will have to pay the BCA's costs. But it will have an even more terrible effect on critiquing anything to do with pseudoscience or alt-med: talk about chilling effects.
wg Founder, the UK's The Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.org.uk) ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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