Australia OKs Suit on Web Article

SYDNEY, Australia — In the first decision of its kind in any country, Australia's highest court Tuesday allowed a businessman to sue for defamation in Australia over an article published in the U.S. and posted on the Internet.

The court ruled that Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and Barron's, must stand trial in Australia, rather than the U.S., for allegedly defaming the Melbourne mining executive. Like most countries, Australia offers fewer free-speech protections than does the U.S. Constitution.

U.S., European and Australian media and Internet firms had backed Dow Jones, arguing that publishers could be subject to an impossible array of differing legal standards.

Joseph Gutnick claims that an article in Barron's in 2000 portrayed him as a schemer given to stock scams, money laundering and fraud.