F Flashcards
Define civil and criminal defamation
Criminal Defamation: Criminal defamation is the act of offending or defaming a
person by committing a crime or offence. For criminal defamations, you could always
get the liable person or party prosecuted. It is studied in IPC as a criminal act.
Civil Defamation: Civil defamation involves no criminal offence, but on account of
this kind of defamation, you could sue the person to get a legal compensation for your
defamation. It is studied under law of torts i.e. as a civil wrong
Describe the way slander is defined in English common law
English Law: Mainly because of historical reasons, English law divides actions for
defamation into Libel and Slander.
Libel is a representation made in a permanent form like writing, movie, picture etc. For
e.g., X printed some advertisement saying Y is bankrupt but Y was not thus it was
representation in a specific form.
Slander, on the other hand is the publication of a defamatory statement in transient form
like spoken words or gestures. For e.g., A questions the chastity of B in an interview, A
is slanderous.
Youssoupofff v MGM Pictures Ltd what
Youssoupoff v. MGM Pictures Ltd[i]
The plaintiff (herself a Princess) complained that she could be identified with the
character Princess Natasha in the film ‘Rasputin, the Mad Monk’. On the basis that the
film suggested that, by reason of her identification with ‘Princess Natasha’, she had
been seduced by Rasputin. The defendant contended that if the film indicated any
relations between Rasputin and ‘Natasha’ it indicated a rape of Natasha and not a
seduction.
Held- In a cinema film, not only the photographic part of it is considered to be libel but
also the speech which synchronizes with it also. Defamation could include words
which cause a person to be shunned or avoided: ‘not only is the matter defamatory if it
brings the plaintiff into hatred, ridicule, or contempt by reason of some moral discredit
on [the plaintiff’s] part, but also if it tends to make the plaintiff be shunned and avoided
and that without any moral discredit on [the plaintiff’s] part. Thus she was awarded
with damages.
Definition of defamation
Defamation is, in essence, the act of publishing an untrue statement which negatively affects someone’s reputation.
What is liable
Libel refers to permanent defamatory statements, so anything which is written (books, newspapers, letters), anything which is broadcast (television or radio as per s.1 of the Defamation Act 1952, cable television as per s.28 of the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984), and even theatre productions (as per s.4(1) of the Theatres Act 1968.) The ‘permanence’ requirement doesn’t mean ‘forever’ (because on a long enough time line, nothing is), but rather communication which exists for longer than the time the original message is communicated. Thus, the courts have gone as far as suggesting that skywriting can constitute libel since the writing takes time to disperse, as in Gulf Oil (GB) Ltd v Page [1987] Ch 327, which concerned a plane towing a defamatory statement behind itself.
Words are not necessary, it merely must be a type of permanent communication. Thus in Monsoon v Tussauds Ltd [1934] 50 TLR 581 the defendant placed a waxwork of the claimant near its ‘Chamber of Horrors’ exhibit. He had been tried for murder, but not convicted. Since this was a permanent communication, this was held to be libel (described by the court as libel via innuendo).
Elements of defamation
