Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (above) has failed in a bid to sue the Mail on Sunday through a German court.
Schroeder was suing over a 2003 article which reported his close relationship with Sandra Maischberger, a 36-year-old TV journalist. He claimed it infringed his privacy and sued in Germany because he said the relevant edition of the paper had been distributed in that country.
However, Hamburg State Court ruled that it had no jurisdiction.
MoS lawyer Gerald Neben said: “This is a great victory for press freedom. If every newspaper had to check with all 25 countries within the EU, they couldn’t print a thing.”
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