What is defamatory?
The job of the courts in this area is to strike a balance between freedom of speech and protection of individuals from unjustified and damaging attack. So fear of the libel laws should not stop you speaking out on behalf of your union, but it should make you careful to restrict your comments to that which can be justified using some simple common sense criteria. There have been various attempts to define defamation, but probably the best is that a defamatory statement ‘tends to lower the reputation in the eyes of right-minded persons.’ This is of course open to interpretation, and that is why there are long-running court cases involving alleged defamation. A judge will usually advise the jury that a person has been defamed if the words used: • expose him/her to hatred, ridicule or contempt • cause him,/her to be shunned or avoided • lower him/her in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally • disparage him/her in his/her office, profession or trade, eg impute some q
