''Berezovsky v Michaels''
Berezovsky v Michaels, House of Lords, 10 May 2000 is an English

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

decision in which the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

allowed Boris Berezovsky and

Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (russian: Николай Алексеевич Глушков; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in ...

to sue ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' (via editor James Michaels) for libel in UK courts, despite the allegedly libelous material relating to their activities in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The case was also reported as ''Berezovsky v Forbes Inc''.

Facts

The 30 December 1996 edition of ''

'' described the plaintiffs, Boris Berezovsky and

, as "criminals on an outrageous scale." According to the judgment, the circulation of this issue was as follows: The parties also agreed that, given online availability, the issue would have had about 6,000 readers in the UK. Despite these relative circulation numbers, the plaintiffs brought their action in the UK.

Proceedings

At first instance, Popplewell J. held that where a party was not subject to a jurisdiction, it was for the court to determine the appropriate forum (citing ''

Spiliada Maritime Corp v Cansulex Ltd ''The Spiliada'' or is a leading decision of the House of Lords on the doctrine of '' forum non conveniens''. It has been described as the "seminal case" on jurisdictional issues. Facts Wet sulphur was loaded onto two ships docked in British ...

987 Year 987 ( CMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * February 7 – Bardas Phokas (the Younger) and Bardas Skleros, two membe ...

A.C. 460). It was found that the plaintiffs' connection with England was "tenuous" and stayed the proceedings. After the plaintiffs provided further evidence of their connection with England on appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, and held that, per the Spilada test, as there was strong evidence of the plaintiffs' connection with England, England was a suitable forum for the trial.

Judgment

The House of Lords upheld the Court of Appeal's decision by a 3-2 majority (Lord Hoffmann and Lord Hope of Craighead dissenting), dismissing the appeals, and finding that on the additional evidence provided England was an appropriate forum and the trial of actions should proceed in England. In his dissent, Lord Hoffmann observed:

The plaintiffs are forum shoppers in the most literal sense. They have weighed up the advantages to them of the various jurisdictions that might be available and decided that England is the best place in which to vindicate their international reputations. They want English law, English judicial integrity and the international publicity which would attend success in an English libel action.

Significance

Scholars and commentators have suggested that the case made the UK more popular for

libel tourism Libel tourism is a term, first coined by Geoffrey Robertson, to describe forum shopping for libel suits. It particularly refers to the practice of pursuing a case in England and Wales, in preference to other jurisdictions, such as the United State ...

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2012 House of Lords cases 2000 in case law 2000 in British law