Defamation Act 2013

Overview

The Defamation Act 2013 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 and the Defamation Act 1996.

In short, the Act consolidates and codifies large parts of existing legislation and case law, specifically in relation to the defences of justification, journalistic qualified privilege and fair comment. The latter two defences have been modified and are not mere codifications. Amongst other provisions, the Act establishes a 'serious harm' threshold for bringing a defamation claim and introduces a single publication rule, potentially of great significance to online publication, and a new defence for website operators. The Act also reverses the presumption regarding mode of trial - to judge rather than jury.

Most of the Act’s provisions extend to England and Wales only, but certain provisions also extend to Scotland:

• Section 6 relates to the publication of peer-reviewed statements in scientific or academic journals.
• Section 7(9) extends qualified privilege to fair and accurate reports of proceedings of a scientific or academic conference.
• Section 15 defines the terms “publish” and “statement”.
• Section 16(5) is a saving provision which relates in part to sections 6 and 7(9).
• Section 17 determines the extent and commencement of the Act.

With regard to Wales, the Act does not relate to devolved matters or confer functions on the Welsh Ministers. Furthermore, the Act amends a number of enactments which extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as to England and Wales. These amendments, apart from that made by section 7(9) which extends to Scotland, will extend to England and Wales only.