In the context of secrecy laws, a public interest defence is a

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

that allows a

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jur ...

who disclosed classified or protected information to avoid criminality by establishing that the public interest in disclosure of the information outweighs the public interest in nondisclosure. It is aimed at protecting

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

s of government misconduct. The inclusion of the defence was a subject of debate in the legislative process of the

Official Secrets Act 1989 The Official Secrets Act 1989 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repeals and replaces section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911, thereby removing the public interest defence created by that section. Lord Bingham ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

. The defence was not included in the final Act. The defence was also absent in secrecy laws in other countries that were based on the Act.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

has reformed its secrecy laws in 2001 by adding the defence in its Security of Information Act. However, its application is limited to situations in which the

has followed a series of steps set out in the legislation before making the disclosure, and the person's purpose in making the disclosure is to reveal an offence committed by another person in their official duties. The inclusion of the defence has been a subject of debate in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 2003 during its legislative process to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law in the media in Hong Kong. The US does not have a public interest defence.

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

, a

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...

contractor who leaked classified documents in the public interest, said he will return to the US and stand trial if he is allowed a public interest defence. Snowden has been living abroad since 2013.

References

{{Reflist

External links

HKSAR Government's view on the public interest defence
Criminal defenses Canadian criminal law Criminal law of the United Kingdom Interest defence