This consultation paper sets out the Government's proposals for reform of the law on defamation, aiming to achieve balance between protection of freedom of speech and the protection of reputation. The Government wants to ensure that the threat of libel proceedings is not used to frustrate robust scientific and academic debate, or to impede responsible investigative journalism and the valuable work undertaken by nongovernmental organisations. Issues included in the draft Bill are as follows: a new requirement that a statement must have caused substantial harm in order for it to be defamatory; a new statutory defence of responsible publication on matters of public interest; a statutory defence of truth (replacing the current common law defence of justification); a statutory defence of honest opinion (replacing the current common law defence of fair/honest comment); provisions updating and extending the circumstances in which the defences of absolute and qualified privilege are available; introduction of a single publication rule to prevent an action being brought in relation to publication of the same material by the same publisher after a one year limitation period has passed; action to address libel tourism by ensuring a court will not accept jurisdiction unless satisfied that England and Wales is clearly the most appropriate place to bring an action against someone who is not domiciled in the UK or an EU Member State; removal of the presumption in favour of jury trial, so that the judge would have a discretion to order jury trial where it is in the interests of justice.

Written by the widely respected author of The Law of Defamation and the Internet, this book analyses the modern law of defamation in a way that consolidates into a coherent structure its various sources - the common law, earlier statutory reforms, European and other foreign influences, and the changes effected by the Defamation Act 2013. As well as examining the implications of the 2013 reforms, Collins on Defamation dissects, in context, the very large number of ambiguous and contestable questions of construction in, and possibly unintended consequences of, the new law. The book draws on authorities from a wide international research base to explain the application of relevant principles, including the principles applicable to multi-jurisdictional publications and actions involving one or more foreign litigants. As well as providing encyclopaedic analysis of the law of defamation, the work contains detailed coverage of relevant conflict of law principles, and important and emerging related causes of action, including misuse of private information, malicious falsehood, data protection rights, and protection from harassment. Comprehensive tables of recent damages awards, and an extensive set of precedents for common notices and pleadings, are also included. This book is an essential text for any practitioner in the field.

The first detailed and practical commentary on the effect of the Defmation Act 2013 combines the full text of the Act with an expert narrative provided by a team of specialists from 5RB and presents them in a straightforward layout, enabling ease of use as a reference source.

This Act reforms aspects of the law of defamation. The civil law on defamation has developed through the common law over a number of years, periodically being supplemented by statute, most recently the Defamation Act 1952 ("the 1952 Act") and the Defamation Act 1996 ("the 1996 Act"). The Draft Defamation Bill (Cm 8020, ISBN 9780101802024) was published for full public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny on 15 March 2011 and closed on 10 June 2011. In addition to the Government consultation, pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill was undertaken by a Parliamentary Joint Committee. The committee's final report was published on 19 October 2011 (The Joint Committee on the Draft Defamation Bill Report Session 2010-2012, HL 203, HC 930-I). (ISBN 9780108473814). The Government response to the Joint Committee's report was published in February 2012 (The Government's Response to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Defamation Bill Cm 8295, 9780101829526) and set out the Government's conclusions including on certain matters raised in the public consultation but not specifically addressed in the Committee's report

As media law becomes more complicated and some of the leading textbooks thicker and larger, this concise guide provides core information without patronizing those with existing knowledge or bamboozling those with little expertise. Suitable for journalists, media workers, and anyone in the cultural or publishing industries, the book engages and addresses the Internet and blogging, social networking, instant messaging, digital multi-media publication and consumption as well as traditional print and broadcast. Each chapter covers substantive 'black letter law' and regulation/ethics, and kept in mind throughout will be the difference in duties and obligations between words and pictures, print and broadcasting. The focus is on the law relating to England & Wales, but with references to key differences to bear in mind in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Chapters start with bullet points, then flesh out the details and summarize pitfalls to avoid. Readers are left in no doubt about liabilities and potential penalties. Anticipating a dynamically changing arena, the text is also backed up by downloadable sound podcasts, videocasts, Internet source links throughout the book text, and a companion website so that any significant updates are immediately accessible direct from the ebook. Visit: https://ukmedialawpocketbook.wordpress.com/