Defamation Flashcards
(20 cards)
Intro
Claimants right to privacy v Article 10
Libel
The defamation appears in permanent form
Slander
The defamation appears in a non-permanent form
- difficult to balance
Element of a successful claim
- statement must be defamatory
- must refer to the claimant
- must have been published
- cause serious harm to reputation
Sim v Stretch
Defamatory statements lowers the plaintiff in the eyes of the society
- would it be considered defamation in todays society
Innuendo
Indirectly implicates claimant in the statement
Tolley v Fry
Defamatory statement was made about amature golfer
- should people be able to claim for this
Must refer to the claimant
An ordinary reasonable reader would take the statement as referring to them
Charleston v News groups
Picture was used alongside defamatory headline
- should claims be made when claimants are not specifically mentioned
Serious Damage
Must have caused serious damage to reputation
Cooke v MGN
Liability can be avoided by printing a complete apology
- serious damage is subjective
Groups
Large groups can’t claim but there isn’t a specific maximum
Riches v Newsgroups
Banbury CID officers were able to claim after a News of the world article
- Should groups be able to claim
Published
Information passed from the defendant to another other than the claimant
DEFENCES - Truth
Defendant can prove that the claim is substantially true
Stocker v Stocker
Woman who claimed that her husband strangled her was found in favour of
- fool proof defence
Honest opinion
- contains statement of opinion
- indicates basis of opinion
- honest person would have that opinion
- strict otherwise all defendants would use that defence
Public Interest
-Protects the media
Public interest criteria
- verified information
- reliable source
- need to be drawn attention to
- there are too many criteria
