Abstract:
Privacy-related concerns often feature in disputes involving the tort of private nuisance. Despite the growing importance ascribed to the protection of an individual’s privacy in the modern world, English law has tended to shy away from allowing such concerns to influence the thinking behind the more traditional areas of law (like nuisance). This article examines and questions the various notions that underpin this English approach. Using the recent decisions of Giles Duncan Fearn v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2019] EWHC 246 (Ch) and Giles Fearn v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2020] EWCA Civ 104 as relevant case studies, the authors posit that the tort of private nuisance can and should be used to accommodate privacy-related claims in appropriate circumstances.