The Mail on Sunday published excerpts from the Prince's diaries,
and he claimed copyright infringement and breach of confidence. The
case has been closely observed as a possible benchmark in the
development of an ad hoc privacy law in the English courts.
Last December the Court of Appeal ruled in the Prince's favour,
saying that the newspaper had clearly breached the prince's
copyright and had committed a breach of confidence when it
published parts of the diary.
The diaries were not completely private and excerpts of them
were circulated to a few trusted friends of Prince Charles, but the
court said that the publication in a national newspaper was a
breach of confidence.
The newspaper had argued in court that it had a right to publish
the diaries but gave up that pursuit in May of this year. It
applied to the House of Lords asking the Law Lords to rule on the
issue of privacy. It said this week that the Lords had failed in
their "constitutional duty" to clear up the issue by refusing the
case.
"A law of privacy is being developed by judges at a rapid pace
without reference to parliament," said a Mail on Sunday statement.
"It is most regrettable that the House of Lords has, for a second
time, failed in its constitutional duty to examine whether this
represents a threat to free speech."
Several high profile cases have taken place which, together, are
seen as formulating an ad hoc right to privacy in England, which
has never had such a right before.
Using the combined claims of the long-established breach of
confidence law and the newer right to a private life contained in
the European Convention on Human Rights, some have argued for an
effective right to privacy.
The Lords also recently refused to hear an appeal against a
ruling which banned publication of parts of a book about a singer's
life. Loreena McKennitt won a High Court and Court of Appeal case
barring publication of details of her life.
Her case argued that the publication would breach her rights to
a private life, which are enshrined in the European Convention on
Human Rights.
The Mail on Sunday has seven of the prince's diaries in its
possession in total, and must now return them all.
