Crime and Courts Bill — New Clause 21A — Press Regulation — Exemplary Damages — 18 Mar 2013 at 22:21

The majority of MPs voted to prevent the courts awarding exemplary damages against relevant publishers who are members of an effective approved press regulator; giving an incentive to encourage publishers to participate in the Government's proposed press regulation scheme.

The motion approved by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That the clause be read a Second time.

The clause in question was New Clause 21A titled: Awards of exemplary damages^[1].

The clause prevents courts awarding exemplary damages if the defendant is a member of an approved press regulator and that regulator has not imposed a penalty on the defendant in respect of the defendant’s conduct or decided not to do so. The exclusion from exemplary damages is subject to the court not deeming the regulator to have acted improperly.

The new clause introduced an incentive for relevant publishers to be part of a new press self-regulatory body.

• [1] New Clause 21A titled: Awards of exemplary damages, Official Record, House of Commons 18 March 2013

Debate in Parliament | Source |