Minister McEntee receives Cabinet approval to reform Irish defamation law

Minister McEntee receives Cabinet approval to reform Irish defamation law

• Minister publishes wide-ranging review of Irish defamation law, with recommendations for change
• Balanced approach to reform required
• Minister to bring forward amending legislation at the earliest opportunity in 2022

1^st March 2022

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee T.D., has today received Cabinet approval to publish the Review of the Defamation Act 2009, and to prepare new defamation legislation.

The major proposals arising from the Review include:

• · An end to juries in defamation cases
• · Easier access to justice for individuals whose reputation is unfairly attacked
• · Clearer protection for responsible public interest journalism
• · Reducing legal costs and delays
• · Measures to encourage prompt correction and apology, where mistakes are made; and new measures to combat abuse
• · Make it easier to grant orders directing online service providers to disclose the identity of an anonymous poster of defamatory material

The Minister noted that today’s decisions are a commitment in her Justice Plan 2021 to “review and reform defamation laws to ensure a balanced approach to the right to freedom of expression, the right to protection of good name and reputation, and the right of access to justice”.

Minister McEntee said:

“I am pleased to publish the comprehensive Report of the Review of the Defamation Act 2009 and to have received Cabinet approval to begin work on new legislation to reform Ireland’s defamation laws.

“We must ensure that our defamation law strikes the correct balance between rights which are protected both by our Constitution, and by the European Convention on Human Rights.

“We should vindicate both the individual’s right to their good name and privacy; and the right of others to freedom of expression, taking account of the vital role played in our democracy by a free and independent media, and by other civil society actors, in providing information and debate on matters of public interest.”

“The Review is the culmination of very extensive work by my Department - including a wide-ranging public consultation, and a stakeholder symposium that brought together the media, academics, the legal profession, social media companies, NGOs, and relevant State bodies.

“I want to thank everyone who engaged with my Department during the review process – their thoughtful and constructive contributions helped to shape this Report.”

Among the main concerns raised in submissions to the review were:

• · very high levels of damages awarded in some defamation cases; these were seen as disproportionate to levels of awards for serious personal injuries, and to defamation awards in other common law jurisdictions;
• · high legal costs, and the scope for delays in defamation cases;
• · the risk of these factors having a ‘chilling effect’ on public interest reporting and investigative journalism;
• · the need for quicker, more accessible and more effective redress mechanisms, particularly in cases of online defamation;
• · the need to encourage use of alternative dispute resolution (‘ADR’), and prompt, informal redress;
• · difficulties for individual plaintiffs in accessing justice, including exclusion from legal aid and a lack of user-friendly complaint procedures;
• · whether, conversely, it was too easy to bring defamation proceedings, and additional conditions should be imposed;
• · the need to clarify or simplify the requirements of some defences to defamation claims;
• · lack of transparency on the reasons for jury decisions in defamation cases, seen as creating legal uncertainty and generating avoidable extra appeals and legal costs; and
• · Whether there is scope for abuse of defamation law, including by issuing vexatious proceedings.

Minister McEntee added:

“This Review considers in detail all the issues raised by submissions, examines relevant reforms in other common law countries, and sets out a range of recommendations for change. I believe that with these recommendations, we have struck the right balance”.

The Review’s key recommendations are summarised below. They aim to:

• - avoid disproportionate awards, and support more consistent, proportionate and predictable redress in defamation cases;
• - ensure that an individual whose good reputation is unfairly attacked can avail of quicker, more efficient, better targeted redress, including in cases of online defamation;
• - provide clearer protection for responsible public interest journalism and investigative reporting;
• - significantly reduce unnecessary legal costs and delays, for all concerned; increase the use of ADR, and of prompt correction and apology, where mistakes are made; and
• - introduce new measures to combat abuse.

The Minister concluded:

“I intend now to begin the preparation of the General Scheme of a Defamation (Amendment) Bill on foot of the publication of the Review.. I look forward to further engagement with stakeholders, as part of the legislative process. ”

The Minister’s officials will consult in detail with the Office of the Attorney General, during the preparation of the General Scheme.

ENDS

Note for Editors

The Government Legislation Programme already includes preparation of the General Scheme of a Defamation (Amendment) Bill, to give effect to the recommendations approved by Government.

Work on the detailed Review of the Defamation Act 2009 included:

• A public consultation, with submissions received from a wide range of stakeholders;

• A symposium on the key themes arising from the submissions;

• Analysis of the relevant judgments of the Irish superior courts, and of the European Court of Human Rights;

• Analysis of relevant EU law, including the proposed EU ‘Digital Services Act’, which includes significantly enhanced protection, enforcement, and redress against unlawful online content; and

• A comparative review of defamation laws and reforms in other common law jurisdictions.

The full Report, and a short summary report, of the Review can be accessed at:

Summary Report:

https://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Defamation-Act-Review-Summary-Report.pdf/Files/Defamation-Act-Review-Summary-Report.pdf

Full Report:

https://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Report-of-the-Review-of-the-Defamation-Act-2009.pdf/Files/Report-of-the-Review-of-the-Defamation-Act-2009.pdf