Conciliation of Press Complaints is working

The Press Complaints Commission’s annual report published last week asserted that it was the preferred forum for dealing with breaches of privacy by the press. The PCC claimed the courts dealt with "less than half a dozen" such cases in 2004, while it investigated 218. However, of these, 91 were rejected as not involving breaches of the PCC’s Code, only 2 were adjudicated upon and, most interestingly, 125 were resolved through conciliation. This involves the PCC brokering a settlement between the complainant and the Press, involving "proportionate and appropriate offers" to resolve the matter. Provided this involves undertakings not to repeat the breach, it is clearly a more attractive alternative to costly and time-consuming litigation, where damages recoverable for breach of privacy are minimal.