13th February 2023
Over at Prospect I have an article about the Tate Modern privacy case.
Click here (even if you do not read it).
As the article shows, I am no fan of either the new Tate Modern building or the blocks of flats facing it. I have always thought it is better to live inside an ugly building looking at a nice building, rather than living in a nice building looking at an ugly building, and the sad predicament in the Tate Modern case is that you have two ugly buildings facing each other.
And like many people, I instinctively sided with the art gallery, as at least the public gallery was a public good, and that offset the private inconveniences of the wealthy leaseholders.
But.
As I read the case reports carefully, and the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in particular, I found it hard to legally fault the final decision:
If there is to be a law of private nuisance then this seems to be the correct application of that law.
My lingering reaction is to wish that only privacy rights were as easy to enforce in non-property cases.
Anyway, you can read the article here – and please comment below.
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