What's the case about: Trafigura - a company based in the Netherlands was supposdely dumping waste in West Africa. A Parliamentary question was tabled in relation to this and unusually, the Guardian newspaper found itself at the centre of a legal gag seeking to prevent it from reporting on the matter.
Why this case is important: The High Court had actually ruled that what should be an open question in Parliament (the supposed centre of democracy) could be shrouded in secrecy and not be reported by the press.
Key issue: Should legal process be allowed to prevent the press reporting on Parliamentaty procedure. Mediabeak says NO. This IS fundamental to democracy and the whole concept of press freedom - whatever the issue wherever in the world, the press, the media are there and have to be protected and recognised as being there to keep in check and question what is going on. If you can suppress questions in Parliament then you extinguish or discredit the whole basis upon which open government and a scrutinisable deomcratic societal systemt operates.
More background:
Guardian
Press Gazette
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