 | This article needs attention from an expert in law. The specific problem is: incorrect reference to some cases as super-injunctions. See the talk page for details. (April 2016) |
In English tort law, a super-injunction is a type of injunction that prevents publication of information that is in issue and also prevents the reporting of the fact that the injunction exists at all.[1] The term was coined by a Guardian journalist covering the 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump controversy that had resulted in Trafigura obtaining a controversial injunction.[2] Due to their very nature media organisations are not able to report who has obtained a super-injunction without being in contempt of court.
The term "super-injunction" has sometimes also been used imprecisely in the media to refer to any anonymised privacy injunction preventing publication of private information.
Critics of super-injunctions have argued that they stifle free speech; that they are ineffective as they can be breached using the Internet and social media; and that the taking out of an injunction can have the unintended consequence of publicising the information more widely, a phenomenon known as the Streisand effect.
- ^ Lowther, J. (2011)Q&A Torts 2011-2012, Abingdon: Routledge, p. 171
- ^ Brennand, Melissa (2015). "The life and death of the super-injunction" (PDF). North East Law Review. 3: 159–90. Retrieved 20 December 2022.