Guy Vassall-Adams

Guy Vassall-Adams specialises in media law and public law. He is recommended for defamation and privacy by Chambers & Partners and for media and entertainment by the Legal 500. He has a particular interest in cases involving human rights law and in media-related judicial reviews.

Defamation

Guy Vassall-Adams has a predominantly defendant practice in defamation and has appeared in some of the leading recent cases in which freedom of expression has been used to develop the common law qualified privilege defence. He was junior counsel before the House of Lords in Jameel v Wall Street Journal Europe [2007] 1 AC 259, the leading case on the Reynolds public interest defence and junior counsel for Searchlight magazine in Roberts v Gable [2007] EMLR 16, the leading case on neutral reportage. He has experience of acting both as junior counsel and sole counsel in defamation cases and for both defendants and claimants.

Privacy and breach of confidence

He has experience of bringing successful privacy claims and of obtaining injunctive relief against the media in privacy cases. He recently acted for O and U, two SIAC detainees released on bail, who obtained injunctions preventing the publication of photographs of their home and family life. Guy Vassall-Adams has also acted in a number of breach of confidence cases including cases raising issues under the Official Secrets Acts.

Media-related judicial reviews

Guy Vassall-Adams acted as junior counsel for the media applicants in Corner House Research v Serious Fraud Office [2008] EWHC 246 (Admin), successfully establishing a right of access to all statements of case in judicial review proceedings and as junior counsel for Rockstar Games in R(BBFC) v VAC [2008] EWHC 203 (Admin) (the "Manhunt II" case), the leading case on the application of the 'harm' test to video games under the Video Recordings Act. He is currently acting for a former member of the Security Service in judicial review proceedings seeking authorization to publish a book about his work, in which Collins J has held that the High Court has jurisdiction to hear the case: A v B [2008] EWHC 1512 (Admin).

Reporting restrictions and contempt

He has extensive experience of acting for the media in reporting restrictions cases in a wide range of courts and tribunals, including the Family Division of the High Court, the Commercial Court, the Crown Court and the employment tribunal, representing clients including the BBC, Times Newspapers Ltd, the FT and Bloomberg. As sole counsel he successfully represented the BBC and Times Newspapers Limited before the President of the Family Division in Re LM (Reporting Restrictions); Coroner's Inquest) [2007] EWHC 1902 (Fam), establishing that the open justice principle applies to the reporting of inquests.

Production orders

He has experience of representing the media in applications for production orders under both PACE and the Terrorism Act. He recently acted for CBS in proceedings under the Terrorism Act arising from an interview on US news programme Sixty Minutes.

Pre-publication advice

Guy Vassall-Adams has extensive experience of giving pre-publication advice to national newspapers, magazines and broadcasters. He also regularly gives pro bono pre-publication advice and training to non-governmental organisations. Between 2005 and 2008 he was a night lawyer for The Guardian and he currently provides pre-broadcast advice to ITN.

Freedom of expression

He is a Council of Europe expert on freedom of expression with experience of training public officials and non-governmental organisations in Kosovo, Armenia and Russia.

Administrative law

In addition to his expertise in media related judicial reviews, Guy Vassall-Adams acts in a range of other judicial reviews and legal challenges brought in the Divisional Court. In criminal law, he represented Parliament Square peace protestor Brian Haw in Haw and Tucker v Bow Street Magistrates' Court [2007] EWHC 2960 (Admin), successfully establishing in the Divisional Court a right of appeal against a conviction for contempt of court contrary to s.12 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. in election law, he represented the incumbent Labour councillors in two recent special cases in the Divisional Court: Pilling v Reynolds [2008] EWHC 316 (QB), the leading case on the test for whether a vote is void for uncertainty and Fitch v Stephenson [2008] EWHC (QB), the leading recent case on whether a significant miscount of votes voids an election under the Representation of the Peoples Act. He was junior counsel for the claimant in R(Clibery) v SSHD [2007] EWHC 1855 (Admin), the miscarriage of justice compensation case on 'new or newly discovered facts'.

Human rights

Guy Vassall-Adams is junior counsel in Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex before the House of Lords, the test case on the relationship between the common law and the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention, which concerns whether the police owe a duty of care in negligence to take reasonable steps to prevent a foreseeable threat to life. Judgment in Smith is currently awaited. He was junior counsel in Tamara Merson v AG of the Bahamas [2005] UKPC 38, the Privy Council case which established the availability of compensatory damages for breaches of human rights under the Constitution of the Bahamas.

Before coming to the Bar, Guy worked as a television journalist for London Weekend Television, a researcher for Oxfam and as a humanitarian affairs officer for the United Nations in Africa, where he was a founder member of the human rights information network IRIN. He is the author of a book on UN peacekeeping reform, Rwanda: An Agenda for International Action, Oxfam Publications, 1994.

Year of Call

2000

Education

BA Hons (Oxon), LLM International Human Rights Law (Distinction), Queen Mother Scholar, Middle Temple (1998, 1999)

Email Address

g.vassall-adams@doughtystreet.co.uk

Specialist Teams

Member :

• Actions Against the police
• Human Rights
• Media and Defamation
• Public and Administrative Law