The two gagging orders, that I have received against “The Media & Others” by two local Councils, are in the collection that John Hemming MP is putting before the Justice Committee for further investigation.
“What is clear,” he said, “is that almost all of the super and hyper injunctions have no public judgment. That means that they are not compliant with the rules for a fair trial.
New type of injunction – the Quaeroinjunction
Mr Hemming has also revealed a new type of injunction against investigative journalism.
“I have recently seen a gagging order that prevents people seeking information about a case from the parties. This goes a step further than preventing people speaking out against injustice. It also puts any investigative journalist at risk if they ask any questions of a victim of a potential miscarriage of justice.”
I call this the Quaeroinjunction, after the Latin work “to seek”. I don’t think this should be allowed in English courts. It has the effect of preventing journalists from speaking to people subject to this injunction without a risk of the journalist going to jail. That is a recipe for hiding miscarriages of justice.