OPINION IN WSJ

HEAD: Foreign Courts Take Aim at Our Free Speech

By ARLEN SPECTER and JOE LIEBERMAN

Our Constitution is one of our greatest assets in the fight against
terrorism. A free-flowing marketplace of ideas, protected by the First
Amendment, enables the ideals of democracy to defeat the totalitarian vision
of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

That free marketplace faces a threat. Individuals with alleged connections
to terrorist activity are filing libel suits and winning judgments in
foreign courts against American researchers who publish on these matters.
These suits intimidate and even silence writers and publishers.

Under American law, a libel plaintiff must prove that defamatory material is
false. In England, the burden is reversed. Disputed statements are presumed
to be false unless proven otherwise. And the loser in the case must pay the
winner's legal fees.