Dr AKENA ADOKO and FREESERVE.COM.Plc
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | LORD JUSTICE MUMMERY |
| Judgment Date | 31 May 2002 |
| Neutral Citation | [2002] EWCA Civ 869 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
| Docket Number | 2002/0233 |
| Date | 31 May 2002 |
[2002] EWCA Civ 869
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
CIVIL DIVISION
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
(Mr Justice Gray)
Lord Justice Mummery
2002/0233
The Applicant appeared on his own behalf
The Respondent did not appear and was not represented
Friday 31 May 2002
This is an application by Dr Akena Adoko in person for permission to appeal against the order made by Gray J on 25 January 2002. The judge granted an application on the part of the defendant, freeserve. com.plc, dated 19 December 2001, for an order that Dr Adoko's claim against them be struck out. The judge dismissed the claim and ordered Dr Adoko to pay the costs of the action, to be the subject of a detailed assessment. He refused Dr Adoko's application for permission to appeal on the basis that it had no real prospect of success.
In order to obtain permission to appeal from this court, Dr Adoko has to satisfy the court that there is a real prospect of his appeal against the striking-out order succeeding. I have to consider, therefore, the nature and circumstances of the claim which Dr Adoko wishes to pursue against freeserve. com.plc ("Freeserve"). Freeserve is an internet service provider. One of its customers, Neelu Berry, operates a website with the address "http://www.sunaina.fsnet.co.uk". Dr Adoko is a colleague of Neelu Berry and operates a link from that website to a book which he has written. It is called "The most corrupt British judges". On 20 November 2001 Freeserve received a written complaint from a firm of solicitors, Bindman & Partners, alleging that Dr Adoko's book contained defamatory and serious damaging allegations about one of its partners, Mr Robin Lewis, who also holds part-time judicial office. Dr Adoko has referred to the letter of complaint, which says that the website which is linked to the book, contains defamatory and seriously damaging allegations about Mr Lewis, suggesting that he is guilty of criminal offences and various other serious actions. The letter says:
"Mr Lewis has a reputation in the profession that he values and the publication of these words has caused potential damage to his professional and personal reputation and caused him distress."
The letter requests that the website is no longer accessible for this material.
After receiving the complaint, Freeserve suspended the website, claiming that in doing so they were acting in accordance with the terms and conditions of use, under which they reserved the right to suspend, restrict or terminate access to the Freeserve service for any reason. They also relied on an express condition which Dr Adoko agrees applies. That condition imposes an obligation on customers of Freeserve "not [to] use the Freeserve Service to transmit or post any material which is defamatory, offensive or of an obscene or menacing character, or which may, in our judgment, cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety to any person."
When Freeserve sent a letter about locking the site, on the grounds already mentioned, Dr Adoko responded by saying that he had been briefed by his colleague, Miss Neelu Berry, that they had sent an e-mail about the complaint from Mr Robin Lewis. The letter said that the Sunaina website is published by Miss Neelu Berry in cooperation with him and that he was responsible for the publication on corrupt judges while she was responsible for publication on the death of Sunaina. I pause to mention that it is not relevant for the present application for me to deal with the matters for which Miss Berry is responsible. Dr Adoko alleged in his letter to Freeserve that the suspension of the site constituted a violation of various rights, particularly rights in the Convention on Human Rights, as well as United Kingdom statutes. He wrote in this letter before action that he intended to proceed against them in the courts unless they lifted the suspension within 48 hours. He said:
"If the suspension is not lifted, I will be obliged to institute forthwith an action for violations of my human rights and for a declaration that you are not a fit and proper organisation to manage a public internet service."
Dr Adoko proceeded with his claim, as Freeserve did not accede to his request. In the claim form, which he issued in the Queen's Bench Division, he summarised his claim as "Breaches of Human Rights". He set out the factual...
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