International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

PRIVACY - TWO EPISODES: PRINCESS DIANA'S DEATH AND LES EDITIONS VICE-VERSA INC. V. AUBRY
By Raphael Cohen-Almagor

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 6-7-2003

Abstract

When news is becoming entertainment (infotainment) and private stories become public spectacle, individual lives can be mercilessly exposed to the glaring spotlight of unwanted publicity. In delineating the boundaries of intrusion, distinctions are made between public figures and ordinary citizens, and between people who choose to live in the spotlights, and ordinary citizens who stumble into the public fore. I discuss the tragic death of Princess Diana and then examine the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and Chapter III of the Civil Code of Quebec [1994] that were invoked in Les Editions Vice-Versa Inc. v. Aubry. Siding with the Court’s majority in this case it is asserted that the public’s right to know does not grant permission to magazines to take photos of people to decorate their covers without the people’s consent.

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