1.   In Britain, which lacks a written constitution, the rule against prior restraint has been badly eroded.

2.   An injunction imposes prior restraint, by stopping presses from rolling and film from running.

3.   One example of prior restraint was the injunction which stopped the scheduled screening of a Thames Television documentary on the pregnancy drug, Primodos.

4.   The balance of convenience approach in such cases is not a test which applies in libel actions, where the rule against prior restraint still operates.

5.   Otherwise, the rule against prior restraint must prevail in libel actions.

6.   In order to invoke the rule against prior restraint, the defendant must state on affidavit his intention to justify the allegation.

7.   At the time, executives at CNN argued that the ruling was an unconstitutional prior restraint of its First Amendment right to disseminate the news.