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Why so serious? Lachaux and the threshold of ‘serious harm’ in section 1 Defamation Act 2013

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tom Bennett

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Abstract

In Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd, the Court of Appeal held that s 1 Defamation Act 2013 was intended to “raise the bar” for defamation claims above the standard previously demanded at common law. However, despite finding that this was Parliament’s intention in enacting s 1, the Court held that this intention had not been successfully implemented by the wording of the Act. The notion that libel is a tort that is actionable per se is one that has a lengthy heritage at common law. However, an examination of case law between 2005-2013 reveals that libel had ceased to be actionable per se long before the new s 1 appeared on the statute books. The Court of Appeal thus based its ruling on a misunderstanding of the pre-Act common law position, resulting in a failure to interpret the Act in a manner consistent with the Parliamentary intention that the Court identified, thereby frustrating that very intention.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Bennett TDC

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Media Law

Year: 2018

Volume: 10

Issue: 1

Pages: 1-16

Online publication date: 15/03/2018

Acceptance date: 10/01/2018

Date deposited: 15/03/2018

ISSN (print): 1757-7632

ISSN (electronic): 1757-7640

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2018.1446403

DOI: 10.1080/17577632.2018.1446403

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