On 12/6/05, Kelly Martin <kelly.lynn.martin(a)gmail.com> wrote:
The Wikimedia Foundation is not subject to the law of
England or Wales
(since it lacks a legal presence there), and a judgment found against
the Foundation in that jurisdiction would be subject to a First
Amendment analysis under United States law before enforcement might be
had in the United States. Such analysis would defeat most libel
judgments based on English or Welsh law, rendering them unenforceable.
Furthermore, there are defenses in United States law that render the
Foundation immune to defamations actions for the actions of its
volunteer editors; those defenses would also be available in a hearing
to determine whether to enforce a foreign judgment.
It would be advisable for the Wikimedia Foundation to avoid
establishing a legal presence within the jurisdiction of countries
which lack adequate protections for free speech, however.
Hence the possibly forthcoming UK chapter would not be directly linked
to the WMF, even if its sole (?) purpose would be to finance WMF.
From another point of view, the supposed lack of
"freedom of speech"
laws (which isn't quite the case: it's just
not as clearly stated as
in US law) would seem a Very Good Thing to us if we weren't at risk of
falling foul of the laws.
--
Sam