Defamation

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

The Fox Corporation is facing an unprecedented $1.6 billion defamation suit from a voting systems company falsely accused of rigging the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump. Dominion Voting Systems alleges that Fox-owned TV channels broadcast a large number of false and far-fetched state

A journalist who was sued by pro-Brexit businessman Arron Banks for libel in relation to a TED talk video and a tweet has won in the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division). The court found that although the statements in the video were defamatory, there was a legitimate public interest defen

British businessman Arron Banks, who played a high-profile role in the Brexit referendum by bankrolling campaign group Leave.EU, has failed in a libel action brought against investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. Mr Banks brought the High Court proceedings against Ms Cadwalladr, a journalist wi

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has instructed McCartan & Burke Solicitors LLP to initiate defamation proceedings against RTÉ. The lawsuit relates to a recent interview, according to Independent.ie, and comes in the same month that Irish MEPs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly launched

The High Court has refused an application by Gerry Adams to strike out a portion of the BBC’s defence in defamation proceedings. Mr Adams claimed that a defence of fair and reasonable publication should be struck out because the BBC did not alert readers that an article was the subject of defa

Juries will be scrapped in defamation cases as part of wide-ranging reforms announced by ministers yesterday. The government's long-awaited review of the Defamation Act 2009 was published yesterday, running to more than 300 pages and making a number of recommendations largely aimed at reducing "disp

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.