Posts Tagged ‘courts’
‘Libel tourism’ knocked back by UK court
Two rulings Monday from the U.K. High Court will make it harder for foreign litigants to use libel tourism — a practice known to pose a serious threat to press freedom and free speech far beyond Britain.
The High Court dismissed a libel suit against William Browder and his company brought by a former Russian police officer. Browder, left, a U.K. citizen who lives in London, had accused Pavel Karpov of being one of several corrupt officials complicit in the detention and death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who worked in Moscow for Browder and his company, Hermitage Capital Management.
Judge Peregrine Simon said Karpov had insufficient links to the U.K. ‘There is a degree of artificiality about his seeking to protect his reputation in this country,’ the judge said.
A second libel case unrelated to Browder’s was also thrown out by the High Court Monday. Serbian tobacco tycoon Stanko Subotic had sued banker Ratko Knezevic for libel. Knezevic had accused Subotic of murder, drug smuggling, and undergoing plastic surgery to hide his identify. Only one copy of the newspaper that carried the allegations, Politika, was found in Britain.
The court ruled that Subotic had suffered no damage in England even though there had been ‘minimal’ internet publication.
Libel tourism became widely known and feared after American writer Rachel Ehrenfeld was ordered to pay damages of £30,000 to a Saudi businessman she accused of funding terrorism. Only 23 copies of her offending book were sold in Britian, all through internet sales.
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Magnitsky, the libel courts, and sanctions
On 16 November 2009 Sergei Magnitsky died in prison in Russia. Shortly before his arrest and imprisonment he had been investigating a substantial tax fraud committed against the Russian Federation by a criminal gang. I shall refer to this tax fraud as the Hermitage Fund fraud.
Beyond this short summary, many of the facts in issue between the parties are unknown or controversial, and are subject to stark divisions of opinion…
So began Mr Justice Simon’s judgment in Pavel Karpov v William Felix Browder & Hermitage Capital Management Limited & others on Monday. And the rest is very much worth reading.
The High Court judge ultimately threw out the libel claim made by Karpov (a Russian ex-cop and Magnitsky List member) against Browder — largely because of “exiguous” grounds to link the case to the UK. Simultaneously, Mr Justice Simon said that there were “inadequate particulars to justify the charge that the claimant was a primary or secondary party to Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and murder”.
The “exiguous” point alone will probably see the case feted as a turning point for ‘libel tourism’, even beyond the Defamation Act which is just coming into force in the UK. Perhaps even for overseas litigants making use of English courts in general. So, here are key bits of the judgment on this stuff:
For these reasons, I am satisfied that the Claimant had no connection with, and had no reputation to protect within, the jurisdiction; and therefore cannot establish a real and substantial tort within the jurisdiction. His reputation exists in Russia and the damage to his reputation (which is presumed as a matter of English law) is in Russia. The contrast with the facts of Berezovsky v. Michaels (see above) is stark…
His connection with this country is exiguous and, although he can point to the continuing publication in this country, there is ‘a degree of artificiality’ about his seeking to protect his reputation in this country. This is an important, but not determinative, consideration on the Defendants’ application to strike out the claim…
But there’s more to it. For one thing, an end to libel tourism or not, the case’s legal bill sounds pretty big: Monday’s ruling refers to the “substantial costs” if Karpov’s claim had reached a full trial.
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Russia: London libel case against Browder distracts attention from truth about Magnitsky’s death in detention – See more at: http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37179/en/russia:-london-libel-case-against-browder-distracts-attention-from-truth-about-magnitsky%E2%80%99s-death-in-detention#sthash.B9dwAWc1.dpuf
Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower, who died in pre-trial detention in 2009, was recently found guilty, posthumously, of tax fraud offences. Despite clear objections by his family, the Russian Prosecutor’s Office put Magnitsky on trial posthumously under special provisions in Russian law. This week, his colleague, William Browder, who was tried and convicted in the same trial, is contending libel allegations in the High Court in London. ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the libel case against Browder deflects attention from finding the truth about Magnitsky’s death.
“The libel case against William Browder is adding insult to injury. It is absolutely reprehensible that William Browder should be pursued in this fashion in the High Court of England and Wales. ARTICLE 19 calls on the judge to dismiss the case in the strongest terms possible,” stated Dr Agnes Callamard, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19.
On 16 November 2009, whistleblower Sergei Magnitskiy died in pre-trial detention under suspicious circumstances, indicating that this was the result of torture or other ill-treatment. In 2007, Magnitsky uncovered a £150m (220m USD) tax fraud scheme run by officials from the Russian interior ministry. However, he was later arrested and charged with running the fraud himself. Sergei was then investigated by the exact same police official against whom the allegations had been made.
“To date, the circumstances of Magnitky’s death and the arbitrary criminal charges brought against him have not been effectively and impartially investigated by the Russian authorities,” added Callamard. ”We are extremely concerned that Russian officials are not focusing on investigating the circumstances of Magnitsky’s death and bringing those responsible to justice, but rather on those speaking out about his case and those involved in it.”
The case of Sergei Magnitsky is the highest profile example of what can happen to someone who blows the whistle about corruption and wrong-doing by the Russian authorities. It is absurd that the Russian authorities continue with their campaign to punish Sergei for his allegations even after his death.
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Libel tourism dealt blow as Russian case is thrown out
Libel tourism suffered a serious setback yesterday when a judge threw out a claim by a Russian against a British-based fund manager.
Bill Browder, who successfully led a campaign for sanctions against Russians involved in a $230 million fraud, had been accused by Pavel Karpov, 36, of ruining his reputation.
Mr Browder had alleged that the Russian was behind a large-scale fraud on the Russian taxpayer and linked to the death of Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption activist.
The case has been described as one of the worst examples of libel tourism, in which foreign nationals with little connection to Britain make use of the High Court to settle disputes.
Striking out the action yesterday, Mr Justice Simon said: “The claimant’s connection with this country is exiguous.” Russia, he added, was “the natural forum” for the litigation.
Mr Karpov, a former policeman, was trying to sue over allegations on a campaigning website run by Mr Browder, 49, the chief executive of Hermitage Capital Management. Mr Browder has become a hate figure within the Russian establishment after he persuaded the US Congress last year to adopt the Magnitsky Act. This imposed sanctions on Russians — including Mr Karpov — alleged to have been involved in the $230 million fraud and also with the death of Mr Magnitsky, an accountant and auditor Mr Browder employed to investigate the fraud.
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