''Lange v Atkinson''

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power stru ...

2 NZLR 22 (HC),

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius II (the Younger) and his followers ...

3 NZLR 424 (CA),

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1 NZLR 257 (PC),

3 NZLR 385 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

claims in

tort A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...

Background

Joe Atkinson, a political columnist, wrote an article critical of former prime minister

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Lange was also the Minister of Education ...

and the 4th Labour Government which was published in the October 1995 issue of ''North & South'' magazine. Lange found the article defamatory, and sued Atkinson, and the magazine's publisher ACP for defamation, upon which they filed a defence of

qualified privilege The defence of qualified privilege permits a person in a position of authority or trust to make statements or relay or report statements that would be considered slander and libel if made by anyone else. New Zealand and Canada In New Zealand a ...

. Lange spent the next 4 years trying to get their defence struck out. The

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

's final hearing in Lange v Atkinson (No. 2) remains the leading case on the law of qualified privilege in New Zealand and affirmed that qualified privilege extends to publications concerning the conduct of publicly elected officeholders and those seeking such office.

References

{{reflist Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases on appeal from New Zealand New Zealand tort case law 2000 in New Zealand law 2000 in case law

Background

See also

References