Defamation:
• Lowering someone in the estimation of right thinking people
• Cause a person to be shunned or avoided
• Disparage them in their business, trade or profession
• Expose them to hatred, ridicule or contempt
Defamation occurs in two different forms: Libel & Slander
Libel is a physical form of defamation e.g written
Slander is the spoken form of defamation e.g speech/said in an argument
When someone is suing for libel, there are three areas they have to identify :
•the publication in question is defamatory
•the publication in question refers to him/her and therefore is identifying him
•the publication has been published to the public eye
The person suing for libel doesn't actually have to prove the statement/publication is false nor does he/she have to prove they have suffered a loss of earnings, they simply have to prove that the statement has the potential or has caused their reputation to suffer as a result of the publication.
Defence against Defamation:
• Fair Comment - an opinion that is clearly recognised as an opinion where the subject commented on is in the public’s interest
• Justification - if the publication states facts and the matter must be proved true ‘on the balance of probabilities’
• Absolute Privilege - comes under law, to report this the journalist must be fair (balanced) and accurate (no substantial inaccuracies)
• Qualified Privilege - facts are thought to be freely known in the public interest (for example a press release)
• Accord & Satisfaction - an apology or a correction that has been accepted by the claimant
No comments:
Post a Comment