Companion website for
COMPARATIVE MEDIA LAW & ETHICS
by TIM CROOK
Published by Routledge on 15th December 2009
For details of the book, please visit Routledge.
Author's profile at Goldsmiths, University of London
Media Law and the Literary Context
The relationship between the individual, the human condition, and the legal rules of society has been explored with intense literary and artistic sensibility. ‘The Trial’ and ‘Bleak House’ are two major novels that have been disseminated through dramatisation into many realms of popular culture.
‘The Trial’ by Franz Kafka is a poignant literary metaphor for the dangers and consequences of legal secrecy and the deracination of the human personality. The central character has been reduced to the identity of ‘Joseph K’. He has no idea of what he is charged with. In fact it is possible he is not charged with anything at all. He dies in a grubby execution in a quarry without any due process or rule of law.
Prague divided over the naming of a square in honour of its famous author.
‘Bleak House’ by Charles Dickens.
It should not be forgotten that Charles Dickens began his writing career as a journalist reporter at the Palace of Westminster and London Law Courts. Hence the journalistic, contemporary resonance and social satire/commentary inherent in his prose. Dickens attacks the corruption, absurdity and lack of justice in England’s legal system. The target of his attack - the Court of Chancery is supposed to be the temple of equity. Yet there is nothing equitable in its operations.
To what extent are case law rulings ‘literary texts’? From the point of view of communication studies and sociology they can be considered ‘texts’ for studying and analysing law. Sometimes a ruling can assume an historical and literary significance. Could an argument be made for the judgement of Mr Justice Gray in the libel case of Irving v Lipstadt 2000?
Its social significance was such that Penguin books decided to publish the ruling as a book.
The publisher’s product description explained:
‘"Denying the Holocaust" by Deborah Lipstadt was originally published in the US in 1993 by The Free Press. It was published in paperback in the UK by Penguin books in 1994. David Irving first complained about the reference to him in the text in letter to Penguin Books during November 1995. He issued a writ claiming damages for libel in September 1996, naming Penguin, Professor Lipstadt and four individual Waterstones's booksellers as defendants. The writ was in due course served on each of the defendants, although the action against the four booksellers was later dropped. In view of the complexities of the evidence, the parties agreed that the action should be tried by a judge alone and Mr Justice Gray was assigned the case. The trial opened in the High Court in London on Tuesday 11 January 2000 and closing speeches were heard on Wednesday 15 March 2000. Mr Justice Gray delivered his judgment in favour of the defendants on Tuesday 11 April 2000. This text documents the trial.’
The judge’s ruling is also available as a law report.
