Foreword
London is known as the libel capital of the world. France has one of the most claimantfriendly
privacy jurisdictions. In Germany, it is relatively easy for a claimant to obtain an
interim injunction to prevent allegations from being repeated. More and more U.S.
publishers and broadcasters are being sued and held liable for defamation and privacy in
Europe over the content of their on-line and other publications and broadcasts. The
European Union courts are often willing to seize jurisdiction even if only a small number
of people have read or seen the allegations in the relevant country. A judgment of an
E.U. court awarding damages is enforceable throughout all 25 E.U. Member States
against assets in those jurisdictions belonging to a U.S. defendant and in addition can be
enforced in some states, e.g. Germany, France, England and Wales, against debts owed
to them by third parties.
The laws and procedures in each European country differ significantly. Moreover, these
standards often differ considerably from those in the U.S. Content which meets U.S.
standards of legality for libel and privacy can still expose a U.S. media organisation to the
risk of being successfully sued for defamation and privacy. U.S. claimant lawyers
increasingly appreciate that they have a choice of the jurisdiction in which to sue first
and so aim to achieve a quick favourable outcome in Europe before continuing their
claim in the U.S. They will then be armed with a successful judgment, admission of
liability against and/or an apology by the U.S. media organisation which they aim to put
before the U.S. jury.
This publication is aimed at providing a practical overview to assist in-house and external
media lawyers in understanding the law and procedure in three key European
jurisdictions: England, Germany and France. It not only states the basic legal provisions
and procedure, but also explains how much it can cost to defend actions in these
countries. In England, for example, general damages for libel are unlikely to exceed
$350,0001. However, losing a libel or privacy case could also result in the media
defendant paying as much as $3,500,000 in lawyers' fees (or even more).