Circular No 358/2021 Dated 8 Sept 2021 CPD Code: T5/18092021/BC/BC213237/1 Defamation Law Reform Webinar Series Series #1 The Defence of Fair Comment 18 Sept 2021 (Saturday) | 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm This webinar carries 1 CPD point. Register online here Remarkably over 50 years ago Diplock LJ in Slim v Daily Telegraph Ltd [1968] 2 QB 157 referred to “the artificial and archaic character of the tort of libel”. And then, some 30 years Parker LJ in Brent Walker Group plc v Time Out Ltd [1991] 2 QB 33 commented on the absurdity of the “tangled web of the law of defamation”. The United Kingdom witnessed its long-awaited reform in the form of the Defamation Act 2013, and one, if not the main, reason for enacting the 2013 Act was the concern that the English defamation law was diminishing free speech and how it impairs the communication of public information about matters of legitimate public interest and concern. The prevailing sentiment in Malaysia is that the reform of our defamation law is long overdue and warrants a timely review. Our Defamation Act 1957 is not a comprehensive piece of legislation, and up till now Malaysia’s law on defamation has developed along the lines of the English common law. In introducing changes to our defamation law, it is however, pertinent that the proposed changes cater to our local needs, values and aspirations. As the Defamation Law Reform Subcommittee — which is set up under Bar Council Law Reform and Special Areas Committee — embarks on its task to propose reforms, it seeks to align our defamation law to modern times, where there’s public demand for free speech, accountability, transparency, and good governance at one end, and the need to protect one’s reputation against defamatory attacks on the other end of the spectrum. This is especially true, in today’s digital age where defamatory speech, comments or publication can spread wide and far at lightning speed. In this webinar, we will explore the defence of fair comment, a bedrock of free speech. We will include in our discourse the following areas: (1) Importance of the defence of fair comment; (2) An overview of the defence as it is applied in the Malaysian setting; and (3) What reforms, if any, we can introduce to the defence of fair comment. Speakers Rajan Navaratnam graduated from She currently practices under her own University of Wales, United Kingdom. boutique law firm Sara Deo & Co., He is a Barrister-at-Law and a focusing on the line of substantive member of The Honourable Society areas of law that she has lectured. She of Lincoln’s Inn. He was admitted as has always taken a keen interest in law an advocate and solicitor of the High reform and studies the law reform Court of Malaya in 1998, and trends in different jurisdictions. She presently is a consultant with has published several articles in law Shahrizat Rashid & Lee. His practice journals for over a decade. She gives areas are corporate and commercial lectures and talks on subjects of her interest with her litigation, and criminal law. Over the years, he has characteristic engaging style, delivering complicated represented many clients in Malaysia and abroad, and his concepts in a crisp and simple manner. She is the current views and opinions on legal matters is frequently sought Chairperson of the Defamation Law Reform by the mainstream media. He has handled many briefs at Subcommittee of the Bar Council Law Reform and Special the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. He also holds Areas Committee. a Certificate in Financial Accounting from Harvard Business School and a Certificate for Financial Analysis and Valuation from Harvard Law School. He is also Muhammad Adam Abdullah member of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia. graduated with an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Malaya in 1995, and was one of the top ten students in Munita Kaur is a partner at Munita & the graduating class of 1995. Adam Satvinder, a boutique law firm located was admitted as an advocate and in the suburbs of Bangsar. Munita is a solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in graduate of University of London, and 1996 and has been in practice for was admitted as an advocate and quarter of a decade. His areas of solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in practice involve commercial contracts, company law and 1998. Munita also holds an LLM practice, commercial law, share sale agreements, general degree from University of Malaya and civil litigation, medico-legal law, law relating to local an MA in Healthcare Ethics and Law government, landlord and tenant, labour law, tortious from University of Manchester. Munita claims, land law, law relating to trustees, administration has academic experience, especially in tort law. Munita and probate, partnership law, taxation law and was part of a team of leading academics at Malaysia’s quasi-criminal practice. He regularly advises and renders Primer Private Law Colleges, having taught at both legal advice to public-listed companies and private limited Advance Tertiary College (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) and companies. Brickfields Asia College, Kuala Lumpur, on the areas tort law, medical law, contract law, the law of succession, and Adam appears in first instance matters and appears as general paper on the Certificate of Legal Practice. Munita counsel in appellate matters in the Court of Appeal and the has taught on an ad hoc basis at the Law Faculty of Federal Court. He has also appeared and conducted University of Malaya, and at the Biomedical Faculty of matters in the Industrial and Labour Courts, before the International Medical University. Munita has also held Special Commissioners of Income Tax, Arbitration and positions as a visiting law lecturer at Intect Tertiary Disciplinary Tribunals. He acted as counsel to the Sultan of College, Singapore; Lingnan University Hong Kong; and Selangor, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Sharafuddin Idris the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. Munita Shah Alhaj, Tengku Laksamana of Selangor Yang Amat currently teachers healthcare ethics and law on a Mulia Tengku Sulaiman Shah Alhaj, and members of the part-time basis at University of Malaya’s Medical Faculty. Royal Family of Selangor relating to the Estate of the 11th Munita is part of Malaysia’s Bioethics Community and is a Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Al-Marhum Sultan member of Clinical Ethics Malaysia. Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj and other related matters. Moderators Adam is an articulate speaker and often delivers keynote speeches and talks at two of Malaysia’s premier higher Saraswathy Shirke Deo (Sara Deo) started her career as learning institutions on matters related to contract, principal lecturer in law in 1999. She has lectured on law employment and tort law. Adam has had the opportunity of tort, constitutional and administrative law, contract law, to chair Disciplinary Committees appointed from time to medical law, employment law, company law, cyber law and time by the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board media law. She has lectured these subjects in both the ("ASDB") by virtue of section 103A of the Legal Profession United Kingdom and Australian law programmes. After Act 1976. He is a member of the Bar Council Civil Law leaving academia, she pursued practice of law in 2013 Committee and the Defamation Law Reform under leading litigators, putting her knowledge in Subcommittee of the Bar Council Law Reform and Special substantive law to handle civil litigation. Areas Committee. Come and join this webinar from the comfort of your own home! This webinar is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Upon successful registration, a link to the webinar will be emailed to registered participants only. Registration will close on16 Sept 2021 (Thursday) at 5:30 pm. Please note that no additional registration will be accepted once the closing date has passed, or if the webinar is full (whichever comes first). We may not permit future registration if you fail to attend the webinar after registering, unless you provide an acceptable and valid reason(s). Should you have any enquiries, please contact: Norazila Ismail (Kimmy) ([email protected]) Najwa Syazwani Aqilah bt Abd Hamid ([email protected]) Issued by: Surendra Ananth and Ramachelvam Manimuthu, Co-Chairpersons, Bar Council Law Reform and Special Areas Committee.