Lawfare

Written by Geoffrey Robertson

Narrated by Geoffrey Robertson

How Russians, the Rich and the Government Try to Prevent Free Speech and How to Stop Them.

‘ESSENTIAL’ Amal Clooney
‘AUTHORITATIVE’ Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC
‘IMPORTANT ’Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
‘COULD HARDLY BE MORE TIMELY’ Alan Rusbridger

The British tradition of “free speech” is a myth. From the middle ages to the present, the law of defamation has worked to cover up misbehaviour by the rich and powerful, whose legal mercenaries intimidate investigative journalists.

Now a new terror has been added through misguided judicial development of the laws of privacy, breach of confidence and data protection, to suppress the reporting of truths of public importance to tell.

Drawing upon the author’s unparalleled experience of defending journalists and editors in English and Commonwealth courtrooms over the past half-century, the book describes the hidden world of lawfare, in which authors struggle against unfair rules that put them always on the defensive and against a costs burden that runs to millions. Law schools do not teach freedom of speech and judges in the Supreme Court do not understand it.

This book identifies and advocates the reforms that will be necessary before Britain can truly boast that it is a land of free speech, rather than a place where free speech can come very expensive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Jan 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9780008607913

Geoffrey Robertson

Geoffrey Robertson KC is founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers, Europe’s largest human rights practice. He has had a distinguished career as a trial and appellate counsel in Britain and in international courts, defending, among others, Julian Assange, Salman Rushdie, Gay News, Lula (now President of Brazil) and reporters from The Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. He was sanctioned by the Kremlin in 2022. He has served as a UN appeal judge and as the first president of its war crimes court in Sierra Leone. He has received the New York State Bar Association’s Distinction in International Law and Affairs Award and the Order of Australia for services to human rights. He is a master of the Middle Temple and a trustee of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. His book Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice has been hailed as an inspiration for the global justice movement. His autobiography, Rather His Own Man: In Court with Tyrants, Tarts and Troublemakers, was published by Biteback (UK) and Penguin Random House Australia in 2018.