Government urged to change defamation laws

An international newspaper body has expressed its “dismay” at Ireland’s defamation laws and called on the Government to amend them.

Government urged to change defamation laws

The group pointed out that damage payouts in Irish defamation cases were up to 10 times higher than in other jurisdictions.

These high costs threaten the existence of local and national papers, said the board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in New York.

“The board of WAN-IFRA expresses its solidarity with Irish newspapers seeking to have Irish law brought into line with that in other developed democracies,” the board said in a statement.

The newspaper body also emphasised the importance of a free press in challenging power. “It reiterates the importance of a free, independent and vibrant press holding governments and the powerful to account, unhindered by repressive defamation laws,” read the board’s statement.

It cited a decision by the Irish Supreme Court, where an award of €1.25m was made against one newspaper and how this was criticised by the European Court of Human Rights, in that the use of juries in press cases leads to unpredictability and extraordinarily high awards.

The WAN-IFRA board also acknowledged the need for laws to protect, from unjust attack, the reputation of individuals.

However, it endorsed the regularly stated view of the European Court of Human Rights that unpredictable and excessive awards of damages and legal costs have a chilling effect on the media.

The board also said the excessive nature of awards had an effect on the right of the public to be informed about issues of significance.

WAN-IFRA represents more than 18,000 publications in 120 countries.

While it recognised that the Government had undertaken a review of Ireland’s defamation laws it officially called legislators to immediately implement changes so as to reduce or eliminate the threat posed to freedom of expression by our current defamation regime.

A statutory review of the Defamation Act 2009 was launched by the Department of Justice in November 2016 but has not completed.

The then Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald announced the start of a public consultation process. Ms Fitzgerald said the review would focus on how to “further develop redress that is accessible, affordable and effective for all concerned”.

She said: “While this review is a statutory requirement, it also examines significant issues for our society. Defamation law needs to strike the right balance between two important rights — the right to freedom of expression in a democratic society, and the right to protect your good name and reputation against unfounded attack.”

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