Defamation in Scots Law
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Defamation in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland
Research and Information Service Briefing Paper Paper 37/14 21 March 2014 NIAR 95-14 Michael Potter Defamation in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland Nothing in this paper constitutes legal advice or should be used as a replacement for such 1 Introduction The Committee for Finance and Personnel commissioned background research into the approaches adopted by the Scottish Parliament and the Oireachtas with respect to defamation law1. This paper supplements Briefing Paper 90/13 ‘The Defamation Act 2013’2, presented to the Committee for Finance and Personnel on 26 June 20133. The paper considers defamation law in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in the light of legislative change in England and Wales brought about by the Defamation Act 2013. 1 Meeting of the Committee for Finance and Personnel 3 July 2013: http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Documents/Finance/minutes/20130703.pdf. 2 Research and Information Service Briefing Paper 90/13 The Defamation Act 2013 21 June 2013: http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Documents/RaISe/Publications/2013/finance_personnel/9013.pdf. 3 Meeting of the Committee for Finance and Personnel 26 June 2013: http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Documents/Finance/minutes/20130626.pdf. Providing research and information services to the Northern Ireland Assembly 1 NIAR 95-14 Briefing Paper 2 Defamation Law in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland The basis of defamation law in all four jurisdictions is in common law. Legislation has codified certain aspects of defamation in each case, the more recent -
Defamation Act 2013 Is up to Date with All Changes Known to Be in Force on Or Before 05 September 2021
Changes to legislation: Defamation Act 2013 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 05 September 2021. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. (See end of Document for details) View outstanding changes Defamation Act 2013 2013 CHAPTER 26 An Act to amend the law of defamation. [25th April 2013] BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— 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 a body that trades for profit is not “serious harm” unless it has caused or is likely to cause the body serious financial loss. Commencement Information I1 S. 1 in force at 1.1.2014 by S.I. 2013/3027, art. 2 Defences 2 Truth (1) It is a defence to an action for defamation for the defendant to show that the imputation conveyed by the statement complained of is substantially true. (2) Subsection (3) applies in an action for defamation if the statement complained of conveys two or more distinct imputations. 2 Defamation Act 2013 (c. 26) Document Generated: 2021-09-05 Changes to legislation: Defamation Act 2013 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 05 September 2021. -
Jurisdiction Over Communication Torts
Masthead Logo Global Business & Development Law Journal Volume 9 | Issue 2 Article 7 1-1-1996 Jurisdiction over Communication Torts: Can You be Pulled into Another Country's Court System for Making a Defamatory Statement over the Internet?--A Comparison of English and U.S. Law Tara Blake Garfinkel University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/globe Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Tara B. Garfinkel, Jurisdiction over Communication Torts: Can You be Pulled into Another Country's Court System for Making a Defamatory Statement over the Internet?--A Comparison of English and U.S. Law, 9 Transnat'l Law. 489 (1996). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/globe/vol9/iss2/7 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Law Reviews at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Global Business & Development Law Journal by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Comments Jurisdiction Over Communication Torts: Can You be Pulled into Another Country's Court System for Making a Defamatory Statement Over the Internet? A Comparison of English and U.S. Law TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................ 490 II. THE INTERNET ............................................ 494 A. Defined ............................................. 494 B. Modes of Communicationon the Internet ................... 495 1. The World Wide Web (WWW or The Web) ............... 495 2. Electronic Mail (E-Mail) ............................ 496 3. Discussion Groups ................................. 496 I. CURRENT DEFAMATION LAW IN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES .. 497 A. England ............................................. 498 1. Introduction ...................................... 498 2. -
An Opportunity Lost: the United Kingdom's Failed Reform of Defamation Law
Federal Communications Law Journal Volume 49 Issue 3 Article 4 4-1997 An Opportunity Lost: The United Kingdom's Failed Reform of Defamation Law Douglas W. Vick University of Stirling Linda Macpherson Heriot-Watt University Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/fclj Part of the Communications Law Commons, and the European Law Commons Recommended Citation Vick, Douglas W. and Macpherson, Linda (1997) "An Opportunity Lost: The United Kingdom's Failed Reform of Defamation Law," Federal Communications Law Journal: Vol. 49 : Iss. 3 , Article 4. Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/fclj/vol49/iss3/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Federal Communications Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Opportunity Lost: The United Kingdom's Failed Reform of Defamation Law Douglas W. Vick* Linda Macpherson** INTRODUCTION ..................................... 621 I. BACKGROUND OF THE ACT ....................... 624 I. THE DEFAMATION ACT 1996 ...................... 629 A. The New Defenses ......................... 630 B. The ProceduralReforms ..................... 636 C. Waiving ParliamentaryPrivilege ............... 643 III. AN OPPORTUNITY LOST ......................... 646 CONCLUSION ....................................... 652 INTRODUCTION The law of defamation in the United Kingdom remains -
United Kingdom
FREEDOM ON THE NET 2014 United Kingdom 2013 2014 Population: 64.1 million Internet Freedom Status Free Free Internet Penetration 2013: 90 percent Social Media/ICT Apps Blocked: No Obstacles to Access (0-25) 2 2 Political/Social Content Blocked: No Limits on Content (0-35) 6 6 Bloggers/ICT Users Arrested: No Violations of User Rights (0-40) 15 16 TOTAL* (0-100) 23 24 Press Freedom 2014 Status: Free * 0=most free, 100=least free Key Developments: May 2013 – May 2014 • Filtering mechanisms, particularly child-protection filters enabled on all household and mobile connections by default, inadvertently blocked legitimate online content (see Limits on Content). • The Defamation Act, which came into effect on 1 January 2014, introduced greater legal protections for intermediaries and reduced the scope for “libel tourism,” while proposed amendments to the Contempt of Court Act may introduce similar protections for intermediaries in relation to contempt of court (see Limits on Content and Violations of User Rights). • New guidelines published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in June 2013 sought to limit offenses for which social media users may face criminal charges. Users faced civil penalties for libel cases, while at least two individuals were imprisoned for violent threats made on Facebook and Twitter (see Violations of User Rights). • In April 2014, the European Court of Justice determined that EU rules on the mass retention of user data by ISPs violated fundamental privacy and data protection rights. UK privacy groups criticized parliament for rushing through “emergency” legislation to maintain the practice in July, while failing to hold a public debate on the wider issue of surveillance (see Violations of User Rights). -
Defamation Bill As Introduced in the House of Commons on 10 May 2012 [Bill 5]
These notes refer to the Defamation Bill as introduced in the House of Commons on 10 May 2012 [Bill 5] DEFAMATION BILL —————————— EXPLANATORY NOTES INTRODUCTION 1. These Explanatory Notes relate to the Defamation Bill as introduced in the House of Commons on 10 May 2012. They have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader of the Bill and to help inform debate. They do not form part of the Bill and have not been endorsed by Parliament. 2. The Notes are to be read in conjunction with the Bill. They are not, and are not meant to be, a comprehensive description of the Bill. Where a clause or part of a clause does not seem to require any explanation or comment, none is given. SUMMARY 3. The Defamation Bill reforms aspects of the law of defamation. The civil law on defamation has developed through the common law over a number of years, periodically being supplemented by statute, most recently the Defamation Act 1952 (“the 1952 Act”) and the Defamation Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”). BACKGROUND 4. The Government’s Coalition Agreement gave a commitment to review the law of defamation, and on 9 July 2010 the Government announced its intention to publish a draft Defamation Bill. The Draft Defamation Bill (Cm 8020) was published for full public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny on 15 March 2011. Bill 5—EN 55/2 1 These notes refer to the Defamation Bill as introduced in the House of Commons on 10 May 2012 [Bill 5] 5. The public consultation closed on 10 June 2011. -
Defamation Act 2013
Defamation Act 2013 In our many submissions to the Government over a considerable period of time, we stressed that considerable concern exists within the book trade with certain provisions of the Defamation Act 1996 and in particular the weakening of the common law defence of innocent dissemination. Although not perfect, the BA welcomes the new Defamation Act 2013 which should help prevent lawyers acting on behalf of claimants effectively ‘gagging’ booksellers. Under Section 1, claimants must now show that they have suffered ‘serious harm’ before suing for defamation. Section 10 now offers greater protection to secondary publishers, such as booksellers, by taking away the court's jurisdiction to hear an action for defamation brought against them except where it is not reasonably practicable for the claimant to bring the action against the author, editor or publisher. Other key points of the new Act are: • corporate bodies (trading for profit) must show that the defamatory publication has caused or is likely to cause serious financial loss; • there are new statutory defences of responsible publication on matters of public interest, truth and honest; • operators of websites that host user-generated content have increased protection, providing they comply with the procedure to enable the complainant to resolve disputes directly with the author of the material concerned; • a statement in a scientific or academic journal is privileged (and therefore not capable of founding an action in defamation) if the statement: a) relates to a scientific or academic matter; b) is reviewed by the journal's editor or peers with expertise in the matter concerned; and c) is made without malice. -
THE COMMON LAW in INDIA AUSTRALIA the Law Book Co
THE HAMLYN LECTURES TWELFTH SERIES THE COMMON LAW IN INDIA AUSTRALIA The Law Book Co. of Australasia Pty Ltd. Sydney : Melbourne : Brisbane CANADA AND U.S.A. The Carswell Company Ltd. Toronto INDIA N. M. Tripathi Private Ltd. Bombay NEW ZEALAND Sweet & Maxwell (N.Z.) Ltd. Wellington PAKISTAN Pakistan Law House Karachi The Common Law in India BY M. C. SETALVAD, Padma Vibhufhan, Attorney-General of India Published under the auspices of THE HAMLYN TRUST LONDON STEVENS & SONS LIMITED I960 First published in I960 by Stevens & Sons Limited of 11 New Fetter Lane in the City of London and printed in Great Britain by The Eastern Press Ltd. of London and Reading Stevens & Sons, Limited, London 1960 CONTENTS The Hamlyn Trust ----- page vii 1. RISE OF THE COMMON LAW 1 2. CIVIL LAW -------63 3. CRIMINAL LAW ------ us 4. THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION - - - - 168 EPILOGUE 224 HAMLYN LECTURERS 1949 The Right Hon. Lord Denning 1950 Richard O'Sullivan, Q.C. 1951 F. H. Lawson, D.C.L. 1952 A. L. Goodhart, K.B.E., Q.C, F.B.A. 1953 Sir Carleton Kemp Allen, Q.C, F.B.A. 1954 C. J. Hamson, M.A., LL.M. 1955 Glanville Williams, LL.D. 1956 The Hon. Sir Patrick Devlin 1957 The Right Hon. Lord MacDermott 1958 Sir David Hughes Parry, Q.C, M.A., LL.D., D.C.L. 1959 C. H. S. Fifoot, M.A., F.B.A. 1960 M. C. Setalvad, Padma Vibhufhan VI THE HAMLYN TRUST THE Hamlyn Trust came into existence under the will of the late Miss Emma Warburton Hamlyn, of Torquay, who died in 1941, aged eighty. -
ARTICLE 19 EPEN List of Issues UK 7Th Review
List of questions for the UN Human Rights Committee for the 7th UK ICCPR Review ARTICLE 19 and English PEN July 2015 Introduction ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression (ARTICLE 19), an international human rights organisation, and English PEN, a UK based-free expression organisation, respectfully submit these questions for the Committee’s consideration concerning the United Kingdom at its 112th Session. In these suggestions for questions, ARTICLE 19 and English PEN focus on areas of concern relating to the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and privacy with a view to clarifying the United Kingdom’s obligations under the ICCPR to fully ensure the achievement of these rights. 1. Article 19 - Right of Free Expression Anti-terrorism legislation The Committee in the 6th Review of the UK expressed concern about the scope of UK anti-terrorism laws. Little change has been made to the legislation in the meantime. The Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) was used to detain and search the partner of a prominent journalist, which was upheld by the High Court (Miranda v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Ors [2014] EWHC 255 (Admin) (19 February 2014)). The High Court’s decision found that the Terrorism Act can be used against journalists who hold leaked documents. The police have also been revealed to have been creating large databases of “domestic extremists” which include peaceful protesters and political figures. The Supreme Court has described the scope of anti-terrorism legislation as “concerningly wide” (R v Gul, [2013] UKSC 64) while the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in his 2014 report described it as “extraordinarily broad“ and only limited by the “wise discretion” of ministers, prosecutors and police officials. -
Public Person Libel Standards in the British Commonwealth Caribbean Versus the United States
PUBLIC PERSON LIBEL STANDARDS IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN VERSUS THE UNITED STATES By ROXANNE SABRINA WATSON A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Roxanne Sabrina Watson To my parents, Sybil and Earle Watson, with gratitude for your love and support ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisory committee chair, Dr. Bill Chamberlin, for his support and guidance over the past four years and also for his patience in working with me in what has turned out to be a very large and involved dissertation. I also want to thank my other supervisory committee members—professors Laurence Alexander, Lisa Duke, David Geggus, and John Wright. I know that without the efforts of each in his or her specific area of expertise, this dissertation would not be possible. I want to thank my parents, Sybil and Earle Watson, for emotional and spiritual encouragement throughout the dissertation process, and for listening to my desperate outbursts and frustrations on a daily basis and keeping me focused on God. Thanks also go to my sister, Kerry Hendricks, for her spiritual encouragement and for her presence when I most needed someone to drive four hours with me to Georgia and back. Thanks also go to my brother, Huntley Watson, for moral support and encouragement. I would also like to acknowledge Eyun-Jung Ki, my dissertation friend with whom I shared many frustrations and triumphs as we waded through the process together. -
Stage 2 Briefing
Stage 2 Briefing Defamation and Malicious Publications (Scotland) Bill January 2021 Introduction The Law Society of Scotland is the professional body for over 12,000 Scottish solicitors. With our overarching objective of leading legal excellence, we strive to excel and to be a world-class professional body, understanding and serving the needs of our members and the public. We set and uphold standards to ensure the provision of excellent legal services and ensure the public can have confidence in Scotland’s solicitor profession. We have a statutory duty to work in the public interest, a duty which we are strongly committed to achieving through our work to promote a strong, varied and effective solicitor profession working in the interests of the public and protecting and promoting the rule of law. We seek to influence the creation of a fairer and more just society through our active engagement with the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments, Parliaments, wider stakeholders and our membership. The Defamation and Malicious Publications (Scotland) Bill1 was introduced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, on 2 December 2019. Scottish Government conducted a consultation2 in April 2019 to which we submitted a response.3 The Convener of our Obligations Committee, John Paul Sheridan, gave evidence to the Justice Committee on 1 September 2020. 4 The Stage 1 Report of the Justice Committee5 was published on 14 October 2020. We broadly support the recommendations and conclusions set out in the Stage 1 Report.6 We also note the Scottish Government’s response, which was published on 29 October.7 The Stage 1 Debate took place on 5 November and Parliament approved the general principles of the Bill. -
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the High Court Of
REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE Claim No. CV2016-03205 BETWEEN RICARDO ERIC CHARLES Claimant AND CCN TELEVISION LIMITED 1st Defendant THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 2nd Defendant Before the Honourable Mr. Justice V. Kokaram Date of Delivery: Friday 27th July, 2018 Appearances: Mr. Earle Martin James instructed by Mr. Tyril Boudeth for the Claimant Mr. Faarees F. Hosein instructed by Mr. Carolyn Ramjohn-Hosein for the First Defendant Mr. Brenston Francois instructed by Ms. Ryanka Ragbir for the Second Defendant JUDGMENT “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.”-Johnathan Swift1 1. The false news that the Claimant, Ricardo Eric Charles, was a “Most Wanted man” for having committed a crime, “flew” over the Defendants’ live and recorded television broadcasts on their crime prevention television programme “Beyond the Tape”. On several 1 The Examiner No XIV (Thursday 9th November 1710) Page 1 of 62 occasions in May 2015 the Claimant’s photograph was beamed on these programmes in its “Most Wanted” segment together with printed words describing him as a wanted man for an outstanding warrant on the criminal charge for driving without a driver’s permit. This together with the spontaneous commentary by the show’s host suggested that the public’s assistance was needed to find this person who was wanted by the police on that outstanding warrant.