Defamation of Character
We all live in Glasshouses, so don’t throw stones
- Generally Defamation requires that the party or person doing the defaming has published (or at least communicated to a third party) disparaging comments or graphics concerning the person or persons who alleges they have been defamed, which tend to lower him or her in the estimation of others, cause him or her to be shunned or avoided, or expose him/her to hatred, ridicule or contempt. Oral statements are slander, more permanent statements are libel.
- There are many defences – the statements were substantially true or privileged (ie; made in the course of legal or Parliamentary proceedings) or amount to fair comment on a matter of public interest or were published innocently.
- Defamation proceedings are, as a rule, extremely expensive (costs in the hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions). Therefore, suing for libel or slander tends to be made by celebrities.