Defamation. Often salacious or scandalous, especially when it involves Hollywood Stars or high profile federal politicians. It’s about defending one’s honour - and earning capacity. It’s an area of law where a person’s right to protect their reputation rubs up against someone else’s freedom of expression. Defamation cases are the juridical stage on which these incredible battles of fundamental rights and freedoms play out.

There’s a lot to consider before launching defamation action, not least whether the action itself increases the damage of the offending material. 

And a lot of defamation is now happening online but our laws were written before the internet was invented, so keeping up with technology is essential to successful defamation laws. But it’s not a new problem. A case against the ABC when broadcasting began in the 1930s faced similar issues.

Hear from judges and barristers about prosecuting and deciding these difficult cases.

Links to matters discussed in this episode

Meldrum v Australian Broadcasting Co Ltd

Webb & Bloch

Dow Jones and Company Inc v Gutnick