Trade Unions can sue in defamation

In an important judgment handed down on 20th June 2024 by Mrs Justice Steyn, the High Court has confirmed that Trade Unions can sue in defamation, thus addressing and settling a long-standing area of academic concern.  In doing so the Court confirmed that O’Connor J’s judgment in the case of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union v Times Newspapers Ltd [1980] 1 QB 585 should not be followed, both because of the subsequent consolidation of Trade Union law affected by the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992 and because it was, in any event, wrongly decided.

David Lemer represented the Claimant Trade Union, Prospect, and was instructed by Christopher Donnison of Pattinson Brewer Solicitors.

The Court’s judgment can be found here.