Defamation Revision Flashcards
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the steps to answer a question on defamation?
—slander and libel
—-availability of defamation
- —elements of defamation
- defamatory statement
- about the claimant
- publication of the statement
- –Defences
- Privilege
- *Absolute privilege
- *Qualified privilege
- *the Reynolds defence
- Innocent publication
- Consent
- Justification
- Fair comment
- Offer of amends
- –Remedies
- Damages
- injunction
- –Privacy and misuse of private information
- Breach of confidence
- Misuse of private information
What is Defamation?
Defamation is a tort which protects a person from loss of reputation by prohibiting the publication of, or recover damages for, public statements that are likely to male people think less of them
What are the two competing interests in a case of Defamation?
an individuals right to privacy (Article 8 ECHR) and the media’s right to freedom of expression (Article 10)
What was Rogers definition of defamation?
the publication of an untrue statement which reflects a persons reputations and lowers him to the estimation of right thinking members of society generally or tends to make them shun or avoid him
What are the two forms of defamation?
slander and libel
What is required for a libel suit?
the statement must be in a permanent form. This usually refers to written statements but can include television broadcasts, cable programmes and theatre
What is required for a slander claim?
The statement must be in a non permanent form which generally involves spoken words, but not if they are broadcasted as that falls within libel
a gesture may suffice
what is the basis of damage in a libel case?
libel is actionable per se, which means that it is the conduct which is wrong, irrespective of whether or not any harm is caused to the claimant as a result
what is the basis of damage in slander cases?
slander requires special damage; the claimant must establish some loss or harm tat is qualifiable in financial terms, such as loss of a job or damage to business interests
