Lawyer Monthly - January 2022 Edition

MONTHLY ROUND-UP The publisher of the Mail On Sunday lost a Court of Appeal challenge against a ruling in favour of Meghan Mar- kle, represented by Schillings, over the publication of a personal letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle. The High Court ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, overturning a judgement made earlier this year. SUCCESS FOR SCHILLINGS IN MEGHANMARKLE PRIVACY BATTLE WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE CAN BE EXTRADITED TO US , RULES UK COURT Meghan Markle sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over five articles that shared parts of a “personal and private” letter to Thomas Markle in August 2018. Markle won her case earlier in 2021 when a high court judge gave summary judgement in her favour without the need for a trial. However, ANL brought an appeal, arguing the case should go to trial on Markle’s claims including breach of privacy and copyright. ANL claimed that Markle had penned the letter with the knowledge that it could be “deeply personal” and was “intended to be kept private.” Following the win, Markle said in a statement, “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right. While this The decision comes as a major blow to Assange’s effort to prevent his extradition to face espionage charges in the US. However, his finance immediately expressed Senior judges found that, earlier this year, a then- district judge had had her decision influenced by the risk of Assange being held in highly-restrictive prison conditions if he was to be extradited to the US. In their ruling on Friday, the senior judges sided with the US authorities after it was assured that Assange would not face those strictest conditions unless he was to commit an act in the future that made such conditions necessary. leaked. Markle denied she thought it was likely that her father would leak the letter, though “merely recognised that this was a possibility.” ANL later said it had new evidence in a witness statement in the form of texts and emails from the Duke and Duchess’s former communications chief Jason Knauf, in which she allegedly sent him a draft of the letter, saying, “Obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice.” However, Markle’s barristers argued that the letter was win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.” LM that an appeal would be launched against the court’s ruling. Assange is wanted in the US over the publication of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011. Lord Burnett said, “That risk is in our judgement excluded by the assurances which are offered. It follows that we are satisfied that, if the assurances had been before the judge, she would have answered the relevant question differently.” Allowing the appeal, the judges ordered the case to be remitted to Westminster Magistrates Court, then on to the secretary of state who will determine whether or not Assange should be extradited. LM 6 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | JAN 2022