Defamation & Privacy Law

At Wendy Doyle Solicitors, we provide specialist advice in the area of defamation and represent individuals and businesses in respect of managing their good name and reputation. We can also represent you in either taking or defending defamation and privacy actions.

The Defamation Act 2009 came into operation on 1st January 2010, the purpose of which was to revise the law on defamation and repeal the Defamation Act of 1961. The Act has now shifted the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant to prove the truth of a defamatory statement.

Tort of Defamation and Defamatory Statements

The Act abolished the tort of libel and slander and created a new tort of defamation which consists of the “publication by any means, of a defamatory statement concerning a person to one or more than one person (other than the first mentioned person) and “defamation” shall be construed accordingly”.

A “defamatory statement” is now defined as a “statement that tends to injure s person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, and “defamatory” shall be construed accordingly”.

Therefore, in order to prove defamation, three elements must be present:

     1.Publication
     2.Identification
     3.Defamatory Effect

It can now be seen that the test is an objective test which is looked at through the eyes of reasonable members of society and focuses on injury to a person’s reputation.

Defences

The Act sets out the defences to defamation on a statutory footing and include the following:

Truth
Absolute Privilege
Qualified Privilege
Honest Opinion
Offer to Make Amends

There are also a number of new remedies under the 2009 Act which include:

Declaratory Order
Correction Order
Prohibitive Injunction
Summary Disposal of the Action

Damages

It should be remembered that a defamation action must be brought within one year or such longer period as the court may direct not exceeding two years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.