Defamation

Northern Ireland lawyers and other stakeholders have been invited to share their views on defamation law to inform an ongoing review. The Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which made a number of changes including the removal of the presumption in favour of trial by jury, requires the Departmen

Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews has launched defamation proceedings against The Irish Times and an individual journalist in connection with an article about his party's response to the war in Gaza. The lawsuit concerns an article by Harry McGee headlined Spotlight on Sinn Féin over its stan

An "offensive and misogynistic" social media post about Sinn Féin's northern leader and first minister-designate Michelle O'Neill was not defamatory and the case "ought never have been brought", Northern Ireland's High Court has ruled.

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed an action brought by a solicitor who alleged that complaints made about him to the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) were defamatory. Delivering the judgment, Danny Friedman KC, sitting as a High Court judge, noted the complaints were worthy of absolu

A task force organised by UK culture secretary Lucy Frazer will meet today to address the growing concern of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) aimed at curbing the freedom of the press. These vexatious actions, often launched by affluent individuals such as Russian oligarchs,

Taxi drivers are set to take legal action after delegates at a Belfast conference were told to avoid black cabs "because they are run by the IRA". The claim was made in a security document sent to delegates attending the 2023 CYBERUK conference organised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC),

A local politician has threatened to sue ChatGPT over false claims in what would be the first defamation claim brought against an AI-powered chatbot, according to reports. Lawyers for Brian Hood, the mayor of Hepburn Shire, Australia, have written to ChatGPT developer OpenAI after the chatbot allege

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has rescinded two orders rejecting the right to trial by jury in defamation cases between Sir Van Morrison and former health minister Robin Swann. The court found that the trial judge erred in considering the facts and issues in the two cases together to deny

Legislation providing for wide-ranging reforms to Ireland's defamation laws, including the abolition of juries in High Court cases, will be brought before the Oireachtas by the end of the year. Ministers today approved the publication of the general scheme of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill, which w

Robust measures must be introduced to limit the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in Ireland, a landmark conference will hear tomorrow. The Dublin Anti-SLAPPs Conference, taking place in the Trinity Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin, has been organised by Index on

The High Court has refused an application by a former sparring partner and friend of Conor McGregor seeking to restrain Mr McGregor from describing him as “a rat”. The plaintiff claimed that the insult meant that he was an informer and a person who betrays another. The application was br

Ciaran O'Shiel and Tim Carson of A&L Goodbody examine the prospect of anti-SLAPP legislation in Northern Ireland following the Defamation Act (NI) 2022. While coverage of strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, has been amplified by several high-profile defamation actions in

Irish business group ISME will pay €75,000 to Limerick solicitor Gerard O'Neill as part of a settlement ending defamation proceedings he launched two years ago. Mr O'Neill, founder and principal of O’Neill & Co Solicitors, launched proceedings in the High Court in July 2020 after ISME

Carson McDowell has secured an apology from Unite the Union on behalf of Nick Coburn CBE, managing director of Ulster Carpets. Mr Coburn took action against the trade union after it issued a press release concerning pay negotiations which made untrue allegations about him.

A new pre-action protocol for defamation and other media and communication claims has come into effect in Northern Ireland. The protocol applies to all cases in the Court of Judicature and County Court involving claims in defamation, misuse of private information, breach of confidence, data protecti