The defence of qualified privilege permits a person in a position of
authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''T ...
or
trust to make statements or relay or report statements that would be considered
slander and libel if made by anyone else. In
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, for instance, cases of
political libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
are inhibited by permitting open discussion of an allegation or rumor, if conducted responsibly and with due care for the
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of ...
of the person whose reputation would be affected. This privilege generally does not extend to repetition of discredited statements,
malice, or comments made out of process or out of order in the organization or institution in which the position of authority is held.
The defence became very important in the UK, especially after a case involving allegations made by the ''Sunday Times'' against the Irish Taoiseach
Albert Reynolds
Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...
. During that case the judge outlined a ten-point test of 'responsible journalism'. If reporters and editors followed these points, the judge said, they would enjoy a degree of protection from libel action, even if they could not prove factual allegations. The defence was abolished in England and Wales by the
Defamation Act 2013
The Defamation Act 2013 (c 26) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which reformed English defamation law on issues of the right to freedom of expression and the protection of reputation. It also comprised a response to perception ...
, which replaced it with the statutory defences of ''publication on a matter of public interest'' and ''peer-reviewed statements in a scientific or academic journal''.
To qualify for this defense, a report is required to be one of a public meeting or press conference that is:
* fair,
* accurate,
* published without
malice,
* subject to the right of reply in the form of a letter that gives explanation or contradiction.
It need not be contemporaneous (depending on publication), where it has to be for
absolute privilege
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defin ...
.
Tort law
Defamation
Journalism
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