Overview

This bill amends the Crime and Courts Bill, focusing on how costs are awarded in legal cases involving the publication of news-related material. It aims to protect smaller publishers from excessive legal costs by linking cost awards to membership of an approved regulator and utilizing arbitration schemes.

Description

The amendment introduces a new clause concerning cost awards in legal claims against publishers of news-related material. It differentiates between publishers who are members of an approved regulator and those who are not.

Members of an approved regulator: A court cannot award costs against them unless the claim could have been resolved through the regulator's arbitration scheme, or it's deemed just and equitable to do so.

Non-members of an approved regulator: A court must award costs against them unless the claim could not have been resolved through arbitration (had they been a member), or it's deemed just and equitable to make a different cost award.

The bill also defines exclusions from the definition of "relevant publisher," including broadcasters like the BBC and Sianel Pedwar Cymru, publishers of specialized interest titles or scientific/academic journals where news is only incidental, public bodies and charities, companies publishing internal newsletters, book publishers (excluding periodicals), and now, small-scale bloggers.

The Secretary of State is mandated to establish a mechanism to protect parties involved in relevant claims who have entered agreements under section 58 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify government spending figures. However, there may be costs associated with setting up and administering the arrangements for protecting parties involved in relevant claims (as mentioned in section 5) and potential administrative costs related to defining and overseeing "approved regulators."

Groups Affected

• Publishers of news-related material: The bill significantly impacts their liability for legal costs, particularly benefiting smaller publishers and those excluded from the definition of "relevant publisher."
• Individuals bringing claims against publishers: Their ability to recover costs will depend on the publisher's membership of an approved regulator and whether the claim could have been resolved through arbitration.
• Approved regulators: They will play a key role in facilitating arbitration and influencing cost award decisions.
• Courts: Their role in cost awarding will be altered by the new rules.
• Secretary of State: Responsible for implementing the cost protection arrangements.

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