Defamation - How To Limit The Damage And Protect Your Reputation

• Published date: 09 May 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Disclosure & Electronic Discovery & Privilege, Libel & Defamation
• Law Firm: Giambrone & Partners
• Author: Mr Khizar Arif

As the proverb says, the pen is mightier than the sword. In today's world, that has never been more true. With a single comment, individuals can send ripples across the world that seriously impact on the reputation of others.

The law of defamation seeks in part to curtail the negative consequences this brings. Dating back to the 16^th century, the law of defamation has seen dramatic changes over the years but serves a largely unchanged purpose - to protect individuals and organisations from damage to their reputations.

Defamation, as defined by the Defamation Act 2013, is any published statement that has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to someone's reputation. Defamation can be delivered in print (libel) or made orally (slander). In the past, libel referred to official publications like newspapers, but the modern definition of libel has been adapted to encompass everything from publication on blogs to comments on social media platforms like Twitter. There are four defences to a defamation claim. They are truth, honest opinion, matters of public interest and privilege.

First, and most straightforward is truth, which simply refers to the fact that the offending statement can be proven to be substantially true. Secondly, honest opinion, referring to whether the offending statement is an honest opinion held by the defendant. This requires the statement to be one of opinion, and that the defendant honestly and truly held that opinion on the basis of a fact that existed at the time the statement of opinion was made. Thirdly, a matter of public interest refers to whether the statement was made on a matter of public interest, and that the maker of the statement believed it to be in the public interest to publish the statement.

A fourth defence is privilege. Unlike the other defences, the defence of privilege deals not with the nature of the statement itself, but the venue in which the statement is made. There are two kinds of privilege, absolute privilege and qualified privilege. For example, witness testimony in a court of law enjoys absolute privilege and can never form the basis of a defamation claim. This applies equally to submissions made by lawyers at trial and statements made by a government officials in the course of their official duties. It also applies to statements made in client-lawyer or spousal privilege. Qualified privilege refers to circumstances in which someone has a legal, moral or social duty to publish a statement.

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