Defamation Defences Flashcards
What are the four main Defamation defences
Absolute privilege, Qualified privilege, Truth, Honest Opinion
What is Absolute privilege
Only allowed when reporting court cases or certain tribunals. What is published has to be fair and accurate report and published as soon as practicable
What makes a report fair and accurate
It presents a summary of the cases put by both sides. It contains no substantial inaccuracies. It avoids giving disproportionate weight to one side. All allegations must be attributed to be accurate. Not protection if paper wrongly identifies someone as the defendant, someone who is only a witness or unconnected with the cases, get the charge right. Don’t say the defendant has been convicted when they have been acquitted
What are the requirements for Qualified Privilege
Must be fair and accurate, without malice and in the public interest. And to retain qualified privilege, a publisher must publish a reasonable letter or statement of explanation or contradiction
What type of proceedings does QP apply to
Public meetings - local enquiries, public meetings, press conferences about matters of public interest, statements issued by police, press releases issued for the public by councils, UK council or council committee or sub-committee meetings
What the truth defence require
The defendant to show that the statement is substantially true on the balance of probabilities
What are the four requirements of Honest Opinion
Must be an honestly held opinion, must be recognisable as comment or opinion, must be based on provably true facts or privileged material, must indicate the fact of information on which it is based
