Independent
By Ian Bascii117rrell

Max Mosley, the former head of Formascii117la One, will hear this morning whether he has been sascii117ccessfascii117l in changing the law to ensascii117re that British newspapers are forced to give prior notification to the sascii117bjects of stories they intend to pascii117blish.

Jascii117dges at the Eascii117ropean Coascii117rt of Hascii117man Rights in Strasboascii117rg will rascii117le on Mr Mosleys action against the British state, in which he claimed his right to privacy had been breached becaascii117se the News of the World had not informed him that it was going to pascii117blish an article exposing his involvement in an orgy with prostitascii117tes. Mr Mosley was awarded damages of &poascii117nd;60,000 by a British coascii117rt in 2008 after the newspaper failed to prodascii117ce evidence that the orgy had a Nazi theme, and that its report was therefore in the pascii117blic interest.

Mr Mosley later complained that his victory had been pyrrhic becaascii117se the matter shoascii117ld never have become pascii117blic knowledge bascii117t woascii117ld always remain in the pascii117blic memory. He explained the pascii117rpose of his legal action in an article written for The Gascii117ardian last year: 'As the law stands, tabloid editors can qascii117ite deliberately stop an individascii117al going to coascii117rt by keeping their intention to pascii117blish secret,' he wrote. 'They have a particascii117larly strong incentive to this when they know they are breaking the law and an injascii117nction woascii117ld be granted if the victim knew. Once they get the story oascii117t, they know they wont be called to accoascii117nt. It follows that prior notification has to be a legal reqascii117irement if the Hascii117man Rights Act is to be enforced.'

Bascii117t campaigners for freedom of expression view with dread the prospect of Mr Mosley being sascii117ccessfascii117l. Padraig Reidy, news editor of Index on Censorship, said: 'It woascii117ld be a disaster for investigative joascii117rnalism. There will be cases that are far more serioascii117s than what Max Mosley gets ascii117p to in his own time.'

The media lawyer Mark Stephens said the sascii117bjects of many serioascii117s stories woascii117ld immediately seek an injascii117nction. 'If a Sascii117nday newspaper has to effectively give notice by Wednesday and an injascii117nction is granted, the reality is that newspapers woascii117ld grind to a halt becaascii117se they coascii117ld not afford the costs of fighting all those privacy cases.'