Libel

Libel, law that protects people from unfair verbal attacks made in writing. It is part of the law of defamation, of which the part concerning the spoken word is slander. By statute law, television and radio broadcasts, although spoken, may also constitute libel.

The essence of a libel is that it is defamatory: it lowers the esteem in which the plaintiff (the person who brought the action to court) is held by right-thinking people. It may consist of statements of opinion, or—more often—fact. English libel law is among the most favourable to the plaintiff. The plaintiff need only prove that the words were published by the defendant, and that they were defamatory. The case is then made out unless the defendant proves a defence, such as that the allegations were true.

In a successful libel case it is necessary to show that the defendant published the words. Most commonly, of course, publication is part of a commercial undertaking, but this need not be so in libel cases: the author of the words is considered a publisher if he or she has shown them to a professional publisher. Publication occurs when anyone causes another person to read the words. An exception is the plaintiff, who cannot be libelled if he or she is the only person who receives the statement.

Whether or not the words are defamatory is decided by a jury, although the judge will first consider whether they can possibly bear a defamatory meaning. It is open to a defendant to produce evidence that the plaintiff was already held in low regard, since this may indicate that his or her reputation is so poor that the libel cannot have further damaged it.

There are four main defences to a libel action. The first is justification, a claim that the statement complained of is true. In order to succeed, the defendant must show not that the words were roughly accurate, but that the precise allegations are proved.

A similar defence is that of fair comment. This allows the expression of opinion, usually on the basis of facts that are not disputed. The words may tend to lower the reputation of the plaintiff, but if they are the fair expression of an opinion, they will not be libellous. This defence protects the exchange of opinion on matters ranging from those covered in employment references to reviews of theatre productions. However, the defence is not available for comments made in bad faith, or where the comment is abusive. A theatre critic, for example, has been successfully sued for attacking the physical attributes of an actor.

Defences of privilege protect the coverage of certain important matters that should not be inhibited by the threat of legal action. Absolute privilege means that the statement can in no circumstances be the subject of libel proceedings. It covers court proceedings, contemporary, fair, and accurate reports of court proceedings, communications within the government, and communications between solicitor and client about legal cases. Proceedings in Parliament are similarly protected because the courts refuse jurisdiction over Parliamentary affairs.

Qualified privilege is available where the defendant acts without malice: that is, acts for the reasons for which the privilege exists, and not principally to harm the plaintiff. It applies generally to all communications that the defendant has a legal or moral duty to make, or makes, in protecting his or her own legitimate interests (for example, a reply to an attack on one's reputation). Such a defence is wide-ranging, and includes reports on most public proceedings and references on employees.

Any living person can be libelled. This includes corporations, such as companies, which may be libelled by allegations about how they conduct their business. However, government bodies cannot sue for libel, since the right to criticize them is more valuable than their need for protection. This rule does not, however, apply to individual members of a government body.