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Law of LECTURE: LAW

Defamation
BY
MUHAMMAD
FAHD AMIN
Every
Statement is
not
Defamatory
 Introduction
• Most legal systems provide protection to the dignity and reputation of people
• The protection is offered in numerous ways, viz.
 By punishing the wrongdoer through criminal law
 By helping the aggrieved party (whose reputation is damaged) through
compensation under civil law
• Whenever someone makes adverse remarks about some other person, there is
always a danger that such action may result in defamation of the latter
• Defamation law strives to attain a balance between right of freedom of speech
and preservation of dignity and reputation of people
 Striking Balance Between Right of Freedom of Expression
and Law of Defamation
•Whenever negative things are said about a person, there is a danger that the
reputation of such person would be damaged.
• Very rarely people follow the maxim ‘IF YOU CANNOT SAY SOMETHING NICE
ABOUT SOMEONE, DON’T SAY ANYTHING’
• Similarly, it is never desirable that people should be totally stopped from saying
negative things about others e.g. criticism on inefficiency of government
departments or on performance of elected officials or about a medicine having
dangerous side effects
• If law of defamation is applied too flexibly, majority of citizens would become
tortfeasors.
• However, the application of law of defamation has certain parameters
 Definition
Black’s Law Dictionary
The act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to a third
party
Winfield’s Definition
The publication of a statement which reflects on a person’s reputation and tends to
lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally or tends
to make them shun or avoid him
Example
A circulates a letter among B’s friends specifying that B committed corruption in
public office. The statement (if untrue) is of defamatory nature.
 Defamation in International Law
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
 Defamation under Pakistani Law
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973
Article 14(1)
• The dignity of man is inviolable
• “The defamation of any person or citizen through spoken or written words or
any other means of communication lowers the dignity of a man fully guaranteed
by the Constitution, thus, not only is it the Constitutional obligation of state but
all citizens and persons living within the State of Pakistan to respect and show
regard to dignity of every person and citizen of Pakistan…..”
(Liberty Papers Ltd. v Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, PLD 2015 SC 42)
 Defamation under Pakistani Law
Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
Section 499
“Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by
visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any
person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such
imputation will harm, the reputation of such person is said, except in the cases
hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.”
Section 500
“Whoever defames another shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for
a term which may extend to two years, or with fine or with both.”
 Defamation under Pakistani Law
Defamation Ordinance, 2002
Section 3(1)
“Any wrongful act or publication or circulation of a false statement or
representation made orally or in written or visual form which injures the
reputation of a person, tends to lower him in the estimation of others or
tends to reduce him to ridicule, unjust criticism, dislike, contempt or
hatred shall be actionable as defamation”
The Ordinance is a special law that offers civil remedy in form of damages.
 Kinds of Defamation
LIBEL SLANDER
• An untrue defamatory statement • An untrue defamatory statement is
made in writing or documentary or made through verbal
published form communication or through gestures
• Examples include writing, printed • Examples include direct verbal
material, a picture, statue etc. communication, mimicry and other
gestures
 Reason for Distinction
• Libel is actionable per se
There is no need to prove special damage, if libel is proven then damage is
presumed.
• Special Damage to be shown in Slander
Slander is not actionable per se. The claimant must prove special damage as a
result of slanderous statement
Meaning of Special Damage
Special damage implies loss of money or some other material advantage
estimable in monetary terms.
It is also known as economic damage.
In case of slander, a claimant can only recover damages if he can prove this loss.
Whereas, in libel the standard is different, as such loss is presumed to result from
a libellous publication.
 Innuendo
•A statement that is prima facie innocent but carries secondary meaning
that is defamatory
•It is an indirect (veiled) defamatory statement
• Law of defamation includes defamation through implication or indirect
defamation.
• Examples
It is as defamatory of A to say that justice miscarried when he was
acquitted of murdering X, as it is to say he did murder X.
 How to Prove Innuendo
Claimant is required to
• give particulars of the special (latent) meaning and facts
supporting it
• identify persons with knowledge of special facts to whom
the said words were published
• prove knowledge of such persons
• prove that said words were communicated to them
 Case Law- Innuendo
Monson v Tussauds Ltd. (1894)
The claimant had been tried for murder in Scotland and was released on a
verdict of “Not Proven”. The defendants were the owners of a waxwork
exhibition and placed a wax statue of claimant with a gun in a room adjoining
“Chambers of Horror”.
The claimant sued the defendants for libel.
The Court of Appeal held that the exhibition was defamatory.