Subjects:

Libel and Slander

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Table of Cases

Table of Legislation

Introduction

Contents

PART I: THE CLAIMANTS LOSS

1-LIBEL AND SLANDER

1 The Distinction

2 Responses and Variations

3 Slander

4 Libel or Slander?

5 Conclusion

2-INTERPRETATION

1 General Principles

2 Special Cases

3 Conclusion

3-DAMAGES

1 Basic Compensation

2 Factors Increasing Damages

3 Factors Reducing Damages

4 Conclusion

4-INJUNCTIONS

1 The Protection of Property Rights

2 The Statutory Basis for Jurisdiction

3 The Exercise of the Jurisdiction

4 Conclusion

PART II: THE DEFENDANTS WRONG

5-FAULT IN ORDINARY LIABILITY

1 The Transition from Fault to Strict Liability

2 The Legal Context

3 The Newspaper Context

4 Conclusion

6-SECOND PUBLISHERS

1 Repetition

2 Distributors

3 Omission to Prevent Defamation

4 Conclusion

7-QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE

1 The Antecedents to Qualified Privilege

2 The Emergence of Qualified Privilege

3 The Responses to Toogood v Spyring

4 The Contrast with South Africa

5 Conclusion

8-FAIR COMMENT

1 From the End of the Eighteenth Century

2 From the Middle of the Nineteenth Century

3 From the Start of the Twentieth Century

4 Conclusion

9-ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE

1 Parliamentary Proceedings

2 The Executive

3 Judicial Proceedings

4 Conclusion

10-REPORTS

1 Reports of Judicial Proceedings

2 Parliamentary Reports

3 Reports of Public Meetings

4 Reports of Public Documents

5 Other Privileged Reports

11-CONCLUSION

Index

The modern law of defamation is frequently criticised for being outdated, obscure and even incomprehensible. The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation explains how and why the law has come to be as it is by offering an historical analysis of its development from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Whilst the primary focus of the book is the law of England, it also makes extensive use of comparative common law materials from jurisdictions such as Australia, South Africa, the United States and Scotland. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the law of defamation, in media law and in the relationship between free speech and the law.