Defamation

Proposals to reform Ireland's defamation laws are expected to be discussed by ministers this week. A long-awaited review of the Defamation Act 2009 was completed in 2020 but has yet to be published. In December 2021, justice minister Helen McEntee committed to bringing it to the cabinet "in the new

A long-awaited report on defamation law reform will not be published this year, the Department of Justice has admitted. A review of the Defamation Act 2009 has been promised since 2014, but the final report has been awaiting publication since October 2020.

Social media companies will have to hand over details of anonymous users who make defamatory posts under a new Australian law. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said legislation requiring Facebook and Twitter to reveal the identities of trolls would be introduced in the country's parliament this week.

The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal brought by two plaintiffs in defamation proceedings which had been rejected by a jury. The plaintiffs argued that the jury’s decision was perverse and should be set aside. It was said that all the evidence clearly showed that the defendant had publish

A long-awaited report on defamation law reform will be published by the end of October, justice minister Heather Humphreys has said. Mrs Humphreys told a briefing in Dublin that publishing the report could be one of her last acts as justice minster before Helen McEntee returns from maternity leave,

The government's new Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is expected to be published by the end of next month, the Department of Justice has said. Ministers agreed late last year to draft legislation replacing the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB) with a new Judicial Appointments Commiss

The High Court in Dublin has granted applications by singer Dana Rosemary Scallon to strike out 10-year-old defamation actions issued against her. Mr Justice Brian O Moore acceded to motions applications made by counsel Eamonn Dornan to strike out the defamation proceedings issued against Ms Sc

The High Court has granted an interlocutory injunction against Ms Gemma O’Doherty for defamatory comments that she made about Beaumont Hospital and its director of nursing. The court applied section 33 of the Defamation Act 2009 and held that Ms O’Doherty had no defence that was reasonab

The High Court has granted an application by Portakabin (Ireland) Limited for the disclosure of the subscriber registration information associated with a Gmail account that was allegedly spreading defamatory material about the company. The court ordered that Google Ireland Limited had to provide the

The High Court has refused an application by Lidl Ireland GMBH for an injunction prohibiting the publication of two advertisements by the Irish Farmers' Association. Lidl claimed that the advertisements contained allegations that their own-brand milk was not Irish and that they had been misleading c

Northern Ireland's defamation laws could be brought in line with England and Wales before the end of the current Assembly mandate, former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Mike Nesbitt has said. Mr Nesbitt yesterday introduced a private member's bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly which would rep

The High Court has awarded £125,000 to Arlene Foster arising out of a defamation action taken against celebrity doctor Christian Jessen. Giving judgment in the case, Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden stated that it was an “outrageously bad libel” which caused significant upset to the Firs

Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP has secured a second six-figure payout for Irish singer Dana after settling a libel case against the Sunday World. Solicitor Kevin Winters acted on behalf of the 1970 Eurovision winner in her action against Independent News & Media (INM) and Sunday Newspapers Ltd over a

Northern Ireland's county courts will gain jurisdiction over more personal injury and defamation cases under plans put out to consultation today. Justice Minister Naomi Long has launched a 12-week public consultation on increasing the general civil jurisdiction of the county courts.

Work has recommenced on drafting a defamation reform bill for Northern Ireland, but it is unlikely to be debated until after the next Stormont elections. There have been prominent class for defamation reform in Northern Ireland since the Defamation Act 2013 overhauled the defamation regime in Englan