Libel Tourism

People from around the world love to sue for libel in England. That's because British libel law, that goes back to the 19th century, doesn't require the plaintiff prove the claims are false, but instead requires the defendant to prove they're true.

If you can prove any damage at all in that country (i.e., a book was sold there, or a newspaper reported something there) you can try to make your case.

So Britain is finally taking a second look at their law. They apparently want to make it tougher for foreigners to sue. But I don't think they take it far enough. They seem to be attacking the sympton, not the disease. Reform the laws entirely.

PS The article in the Times has this odd moment:

More than 20,000 people, including Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, have signed a petition saying that the laws “discourage argument and debate” and have no place in scientific disputes.

I'm as big a fan of Dawkins as anyone, but was he truly the only name they considered worth mentioning of the 20,000? It's not even as if he has any special legal expertise.