On the 10th July 2020 the High Court in Belfast issued its final judgment in In re Fine Point Films. In May 2019, the Court quashed the search warrants against the filmmakers and journalists Trevor Birney & Barry McCaffrey, who made the film No Stone Unturned. The judgment issued by the Court on the 10th July 2020 explains the court’s reasons for quashing the search warrants. The court judgment is attached, and the “summary of judgment” issued by the court’s communications office is available on the judicial website Judiciary NI.
Patricia Coyle of Harte Coyle Collins, Solicitors & Advocates, who represented the US based Reporters’ Committee for the Freedom of the Press (RCFP), welcomed the landmark judgment issued by the Court which provides clear guidance for judges regarding applications by the police or other state agencies which might interfere with investigative journalists’ rights and freedoms.
