On February 15, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg declared that the mammoth McLibel case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression.
McDonald's launched libel proceedings to try to prevent the distribution of leaflets criticising the company. The trial became the longest case in English legal history, lasting 314 days, in which the McLibel 2 represented themselves against McDonald's. The trial and a 23-day appeal in 1999, resulted in a mixed verdict.
Damning rulings were made against McDonald's core business practices, but no sanctions were ordered against them, and the McLibel 2 were outrageously ordered to pay the company £40,000 damages. They refused to pay and launched legal proceedings against the UK govt in September 2000.
The European Court ruling states that the lack of precedural fairness and equality gave rise to a breach of the right to freedom of expression. They said that the award of £40,000 damages to McDonald's was disproportionate.
The court recognised that there was a "strong public interest in enabling campaign groups and individuals outside the mainstream to contribute to the public debate by disseminating information and ideas on matters of general public interest such as health and the environment".
After the verdict Helen Steel and Dave Morris said:
"Having largely beaten McDonald's, and won some damning judgements against them in our trial, we have now exposed the notoriously oppressive and unfair UK laws.
"The continually growing opposition to McDonald's and all it stands for is a vindication of all the efforts of those around the world who have been exposing and challenging the corporation's business practices." For further information see: http://www.mcspotlight.org