Week 12-13 Defamation

Defamation. Libel. Slander .Absolute and Qualified Privillege. Remedies

Every man has an absolute right to have his reputation preserved inviolate. This right of reputation is acknowledged as an inherent personal right of every person. It is a. jus in rem, a right absolute and good against all the world. A man's reputation is his property, and, if possible, more ' valuable than other property  . Indeed, if we reflect on the degree of suffering occasioned by loss of character, and compare it with that occasioned by loss of property, the amount of the former injury far exceeds that of the latter (per Best, C. J., in De Crespigny v. Wellesley, 5 Bing. 406). The wrong of defamation may be committed either by way of speech, or by way of writing, or its equivalent. The term ' slander ' is used for the former kind of utterances, ' libel ' for the latter. Slander is a spoken, and libel is a written, defamation. A libel consists in the publication of a false and defamatory statement, expressed in printing or writing, or by signs, pictures, &c., tending to injure the reputation of another, and thereby exposing such person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Everything, printed or written, which reflects on the character of another, and is published without lawfuljustification or excuse, {i. e., maliciously, as it is sometimes said) is a libel, whatever the intention may have been A slander is a false and defamatory verbal statement tending to injure the reputation of another. In Pakistan, the cases of defamation are dealt in accordance with Defamation Act 2002.

Recommended cases

Dixon v. Holden, L. R. 7 Eq. 492

PLD 1960 SC 237

Mithan v. Nusservanji 1943

2005 CLD 840

Gaya v. Mahabir 1926

Newstead v. London Exprrss etc 1940

PLD 1959 Kar. 378

Download Files

infringement-of-right-of-reputation.pdf (1.90 MB )

defamation.pptx (0.42 MB )