Defamation Publication in UK Law
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John v MGN Ltd
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In assessing the appropriate damages for injury to reputation the most important factor is the gravity of the libel; the more closely it touches the plaintiff's personal integrity, professional reputation, honour, courage, loyalty and the core attributes of his personality, the more serious it is likely to be. The extent of publication is also very relevant: a libel published to millions has a greater potential to cause damage than a libel published to a handful of people.
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Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd
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The reference to a situation where the statement “has caused” serious harm is to the consequences of the publication, and not the publication itself. It points to some historic harm, which is shown to have actually occurred. This is a proposition of fact which can be established only by reference to the impact which the statement is shown actually to have had. It depends on a combination of the inherent tendency of the words and their actual impact on those to whom they were communicated.
Suppose that the words amount to a grave allegation against the claimant, but they are published to a small number of people, or to people none of whom believe it, or possibly to people among whom the claimant had no reputation to be harmed. The law's traditional answer is that these matters may mitigate damages but do not affect the defamatory character of the words. Yet it is plain that section 1 was intended to make them part of the test of the defamatory character of the statement.
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Bunt v Tilley
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In determining responsibility for publication in the context of the law of defamation, it seems to me to be important to focus on what the person did, or failed to do, in the chain of communication. It is clear that the state of a defendant's knowledge can be an important factor.
Of course, to be liable for a defamatory publication it is not always necessary to be aware of the defamatory content, still less of its legal significance. Editors and publishers are often fixed with responsibility notwithstanding such lack of knowledge. On the other hand, for a person to be held responsible there must be knowing involvement in the process of publication of the relevant words. It is not enough that a person merely plays a passive instrumental role in the process.
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Broome v Cassell & Company Ltd
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Such actions involve a money award which may put the plaintiff in a purely financial sense in a much stronger position than he was before the wrong. Not merely can he recover the estimated sum of his past and future losses, but, in case the libel, driven underground, emerges from its lurking place at some future date, he must be able to point to a sum awarded by a jury sufficient to convince a bystander of the baselessness of the charge.
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NT 1 and another v Google LLC (Information Commissioner intervening)
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In summary, a defendant who is sued for defamation in respect of a publication imputing the commission by the claimant of a criminal offence which is the subject of a spent conviction can rely on any reporting privilege that may exist and/or on a defence of truth or honest opinion, unless the publication is proved to have been made with malice. In defamation, a conviction is conclusive proof of guilt, against a claimant: Civil Evidence Act 1968, s 13.
- Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021
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Defamation Act 2013
... ... Requirement of serious harm ... 1: Serious harm ... (1) A statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the claimant ... (2) For the purposes of this section, harm to the reputation of ... ...
- The Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 (Commencement and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2022
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Defamation Act 1996
... ... 2010/976), Sch. 17 para. 14 (with arts. 28-31) ... Responsibility for publication ... 1: Responsibility for publication ... (1) In defamation proceedings a person has a defence if he shows that—(a) he was not the author, ... ...
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The Reformulated Contextual Truth Defence: More Radical That First Appears
Defamatory publications may carry any number of related or distinct imputations. Complexities arise where a plaintiff selects one or more imputations for complaint, but ignores other imputations ca......In Focus: Defamation LawFederal Law Review2022, Vol. 50(2) 206–220© The Author(s) ... complaint, but ignores other im putationscarried by the same publication. In England and Wales, the so-called Polly Peck principle ... ...
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Protecting the reputation of defamation law: How defamation law can remain justified in an age of globalized communications, science, human rights and democratic values
The 59,511 signature strong petition for libel reform clearly demonstrates the impetus for reform of Anglo-Welsh defamation law. This dissertation identifies the increased importance of freedom of ...... ... It is also considered a single publication rule bolster the protection of such material and provide a more principled and pragmatic approach to the reality of multiple publication over the ... ...
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The Cartoon Controversy: Offence, Identity, Oppression?
If the publication of twelve drawings of the Prophet Mohammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which sparked the ‘cartoon controversy’, was wrong, why might this be the case? The article co...... ... University of Copenhagen ... If the publication ... defamation ... ...
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Criminal Defamation in the Commonwealth - a Case for Abolition
Background. History. The role of the commonwealth press union. Brief overview of criminal defamation status in select commonwealth countries. Australia. Canada. Commonwealth Caribbean. Nigeria. Con...... ... an apparently loaded comment in the first paragraph which is not backed up until further down the article, might place the writer and the publication in jeopardy ... 14. The criminalisation of a particular activity implies a clear State interest in controlling the activity and imparts a ... ...
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Scotland's first "virtual appeal" reaffirms the value of fair comment
The law of defamation requires to strike the difficult balance between the right to freedom of expression and the need to adequately protect the reputations of individuals and organisations against......The law of defamation requires to strike the difficult balance between the right to freedom of ... Reform is on the horizon, with the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament. In the meantime, ... ...
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Have Companies Lost The Ability To Sue For Defamation?
... ... For companies and other profit making entities, this means demonstrating actual or likely "serious financial loss" New single publication rule New defences, including specific defences for website operators and statements in scientific and academic journals Increased protection ... ...
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Defamation And 'the Public Interest Defence': A Different Approach North And South Of The Border
... ... 127, the House of Lords established a specific defence to a claim ... for defamation brought in relation to publication of a statement on ... a matter of public interest. Where the defamatory material ... concerned such a matter, the defendant had to show that it had ... ...
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Freedom Of Speech Triumphant
... ... and me as Ken Clarke, published in March the long awaited draft Defamation Bill, for consultation until June 2011. Duncan Lamont looks at the Bill ... Responsible publication in the public interest Clause 2 of the draft Bill introduces a new ... ...