Roundtable discussion with Elizabeth Samson
International law & the media
Our most recent event was a discussion about how the complexities of international law are addressed in the media. Participating in the discussion at Portcullis House were international law experts, specialists in conflict reporting and relevant correspondents. The discussion was chaired by Daniel Johnson, Editor of Standpoint.
The roundtable examined how journalists approach international legal concepts in their reporting, what challenges they and their audiences face, and how these might be addressed. The collective expertise addressed the questions of how this important subject can be made clearer in public discussion.
Key extracts from the discussion include:
- International law expert Elizabeth Samson, Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute, gave an introductory address canvassing the ways in which the media can affect international law, as well as the perceptions of it. These included the contribution of journalists to the course and development of customary international law by reporting on conflicts, their influence on public perceptions of international law and their role in popularising specific legal terminology.
- Anthony Borden, Executive Director of Institute for War and Peace Reporting, argued for the benefits of journalists laying out the details of international legal concepts in conflict reporting in their full complexity. He described the valuable role journalists can play in ‘chipping away’ at public misunderstandings of the legal terms in common usage.
- Nick Donovan, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research at the Aegis Trust explained that the ‘emotive power’ of particular legal terms like ‘genocide’ can lessen their utility. Citing the example of Bosnia, Nick explained how usage of these terms can generate unhelpful levels of expectation by parties to conflict who seek judicial redress. Nick argued that the trick may not be to report legal concepts in all their complexity, but rather to use language that carries the gist of the issues being discussed.
- Dr Suzanne Franks, Director of Research at the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent emphasised the challenge faced by all journalists of aggregating many opposing perspectives in a story into a single, often short report on a complex series of events. She referred to this challenge as a ‘plea for complexity’.
- Jonathan Marcus, Diplomatic Correspondent at the BBC World Service, traced some of the major shifts in how conflicts have been reported over recent decades, the rise of technologies and the questions they raise for journalists. Jonathan reflected positively on how International law is a far more ‘current concern’ than it once was, but expressed fears for the use of legal terms for polemical gain. He also offered examples illustrating how easy it can be to misunderstand the hostilities taking place far away for both journalists and their audiences.
- Prof Robert McCorquodale, Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law articulated the challenges facing both journalists and legal experts when conflicts make the news. Legal experts can compound the difficulties for journalists as they struggle to provide simple answers to legal questions they are asked by non-specialist correspondents. In turn, experts themselves struggle to find opportunities to express themselves in the mainstream media.
- Douglas Murray, Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion argued that the example of Kosovo is emblematic of the difficulties that arise when questions of legality become the centre of public focus while conflicts are raging. Douglas also emphasised the fast-paced nature of today’s news, and believes that there is a consequent race to use legal terms that are only very rarely clarified when the news agenda moves elsewhere.
- Prof Jean Seaton, Professor of Media History at Westminster University emphasised that the first responsibility of journalism is to tell news audiences what happened. Jean argued that journalists must prioritise ‘real life phrases’ that communicate the nuances of international law over precise legal terminology, and believes that appropriate training may help journalists in this regard. Jean argued that international law is discussed in reference to conflicts that have already captivated public attention, but she raised the question of regions such as Sudan and Congo that receive relatively little media attention.
- Prof Jon Silverman, Professor of Media and Criminal Justice at the University of Bedfordshire argued that news audiences’ familiarity with legal concepts is growing, citing increasingly common references to articles of the Human Right Act as an example. Jon also discussed the problem of Western journalists reporting distant conflicts though their own conceptual frameworks, and highlighted the importance of getting beyond the narratives that we are used to.
- Dr Ralph Wilde, Reader in Laws and Vice Dean for Research at UCL explained that the application of legal concepts such as proportionality are contested even amongst international law experts, and emphasised the challenge for legal correspondents to accommodate inevitably opposing views. He discussed the decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003 in this context. Ralph also discussed the ‘dark secret of international law’, explaining that even legal actions can result in horrific human miseries, and that journalists can have a role in educating the public about international law.
Just Journalism will publish a full report detailing the findings of the discussion in the coming weeks. This research will seek to advance the public awareness of the important questions discussed.