IMPRESS/CIArb scheme: defamation award against a regulated publisher
IMPRESS · Press · England and Wales
Why it matters
Proof that the Leveson arbitration model works in practice. IMPRESS, with arbitrators appointed by CIArb's Dispute Appointment Service, runs the UK's only recognised arbitration scheme for claims against news publishers, covering defamation, privacy, harassment and data protection, with the publisher funding the process and costs capped. Awards are final, binding and published in full, bringing court-grade outcomes within reach of ordinary claimants at a fraction of libel litigation cost.
Summary
Under the scheme IMPRESS operates with CIArb, anyone with a civil claim against an IMPRESS-regulated publisher, for defamation, breach of confidence, misuse of private information, malicious falsehood, harassment or data protection breaches, can take it to arbitration instead of court. IMPRESS pays for the arbitrator, the publisher carries the scheme cost, recoverable legal costs are capped at modest levels, and the arbitrator, a CIArb-appointed independent, aims to decide within three months. The decision is final and binding under the Arbitration Act 1996 and enforceable like a court judgment, and every award is published on the IMPRESS website. In this published award, a claimant sued a regulated publisher over a defamatory tweet. The arbitrator partially upheld the defamation claim, with other claims withdrawn by consent, awarded GBP 2,500 in damages, and ordered the publisher not to republish the statement. Other published awards under the scheme have combined small damages sums with orders to publish full apologies and retractions, remedies a court could not always deliver as quickly or cheaply. For researchers, the scheme is the working example of Leveson's arbitration model: low-cost, binding press accountability that protects smaller publishers from ruinous litigation costs while giving the public a real remedy. The full award documents are available on the IMPRESS awards page linked here.
The detail
Parties: Individual claimant v an IMPRESS-regulated news publisher
Case number: IMPRESS arbitration scheme (parties as published by IMPRESS)
Outcome: Defamation claim partially upheld: GBP 2,500 damages and an order not to republish the defamatory statement.
Quantum: GBP 2,500
Applicable law: Arbitration Act 1996; English defamation law; the IMPRESS scheme rules under the Leveson framework (Crime and Courts Act 2013, section 40 context).
Issues in play: Press freedom against an individual's reputation, resolved through the UK's only recognised low-cost press arbitration scheme instead of High Court libel litigation that few individuals could afford.
Read the full decision at IMPRESS ↗
Locus Standi links to the source decision and publishes its own plain-language summary. It does not reproduce the text of the award.