Laws of defamation vary from society to society, even those based on English common law. (For more on common law, see Chapter 63 Introduction to the law.) This is especially so on the issue of truth. In common law, a matter normally has to be false to be defamatory. However, some systems have passed laws (statutes) that truth alone is not a complete defence. And even in common law systems it is the responsibility of the person making the accusation to prove it is true; it is not the responsibility of the victim to prove it is false. This is an important distinction for journalists and we will speak more of it later in this chapter and in the following chapter. If someone complains to the court that you have defamed them, they are called the plaintiff. Because defamation is usually a civil wrong, when people take court action, they are said to sue for defamation. Before the mass media became so important, defamation was usually done by word of mouth, often by rumour or gossip. Today, many cases of defamation relate to the media. To defame someone, journalists do not have to make up false things themselves. You can defame a person by repeating words spoken by someone else, for example an interviewee. It is no defence to claim that you were only quoting someone else. If you write something defamatory, you could be taken to court, along with your editor, your publisher and printer or your broadcasting authority, the person who said the words in the first place ... even the newspaper seller. As already mentioned, one of the problems with describing how defamation laws can affect you is that they differ from country to country. After reading this chapter and the next, you will need to do some research of your own, by asking local lawyers for advice. Although all lawyers should know something about defamation, it has become such a specialist area of the law that some lawyers are expert in it, while others are not. Find an expert to ask. Your news organisation may have a special lawyer who advises on matters such as defamation. Libel and slander Before we move on, a word about libel and slander. These are words for different kinds of defamation. Years ago, the difference between libel and slander was that libel was the written word, while slander was the spoken word. With the development of the press, libel became the most widespread form of defamation. When broadcasting was introduced, most legal systems decided to treat radio and television like the press and apply the laws of libel to them, even though their words are spoken. For the purposes of these chapters, we will use only the single term defamation. ^^back to the top A definition of defamation Your country may have laws protecting freedom of speech and publication. These may be part of your Constitution. There will probably also be laws of defamation to protect people from false accusations. In most Commonwealth countries, the defamation laws are based on English law. Those countries which gained independence after World War II usually follow the rules laid down in the United Kingdom Defamation Act of 1952. The British Defamation Act was updated in 1996 and since 1952 many countries have passed their own defamation laws. Although some defamation laws are clear in theory, you can only see how they work in practice by looking at court cases. In many developing countries, very few defamation cases have been taken to court so, for general guidance on how laws on defamation are applied, you may have to look at court decisions in other countries which have a similar legal system to your own. Although English decisions are not binding in independent countries, they may provide guidance for courts in your country on how to judge allegations of defamation. One thing you should always remember - if there is any fear in your mind that you might be committing defamation, ask for professional legal advice before publishing. Most news organisations have lawyers they can call on for advice. One problem with any laws on defamation is that they do not tell you what you may do; they lay down in broad terms what you may not do. While the laws of defamation even in common law systems vary from country to country, a basic definition can be found in the British Defamation Act of 1952 which says defamation is:
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 01:05:01 +0000
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