L70 Response Not Accepted Self-assessed

Civil Justice Council Damages Review

Recommendation

The Civil Justice Council should consider the level of damages in privacy, breach of confidence and data protection cases, being prepared to take evidence (from the Information Commissioner, the media and others) and thereafter to make recommendations on the appropriate level of damages for distress in such cases. How the matter is then taken forward will ultimately be for the courts to consider.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Civil Justice Council (27 February 2025), this recommendation was not implemented, and the Civil Justice Council did not conduct the recommended review of damages levels in privacy, breach of confidence, and data protection cases. According to the Prime Minister's statement of 29 November 2012, the government did not formally respond to civil justice recommendations.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Not Accepted
Not Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

This recommendation was not implemented. The government did not formally respond to civil justice recommendations in the Prime Minister's statement of 29 November 2012. Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which would have created a costs incentive mechanism, was enacted but never commenced. On 1 March 2018, the Secretary of State announced that Section 40 would not be commenced and would be repealed. Section 40 was repealed by Section 50 of the Media Act 2024 (Royal Assent 24 May 2024). Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/leveson-consultation-response

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Not Implemented
27 Feb 2025
Civil Justice Council Other

The Civil Justice Council did not conduct the review of damages levels in privacy, breach of confidence and data protection cases that Leveson recommended.

View detailed findings

The specific CJC review was not carried out.

Civil Justice Council View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Personal data privacy risks Discriminatory media reporting oversight Civil Justice Council Civil Law Damages Privacy
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago