Legal Action
To Sue or Not to Sue?
If the story isn't true,
and if it brings you into disrepute, you may believe that
you have a case to sue for defamation. (You can't sue just
because the material isn't true - you have to prove that it
has damaged your reputation in some way too.) Get legal
advice.
Media Law
Most people assume media
law is there to protect them from the media, but if you
publish newsletters, have a website, print leaflets, or
write a "blog" it applies to you too.
Defamation
Defamation is the
publication of a statement about an individual that is
published with the intention to tarnish or reduce their
public reputation. In England and Wales, a defamatory
statement comes in two forms: a permanent defamatory
statement called libel and a non-permanent defamatory
statement called slander.
Any living individual or company can sue as long as they are
reasonably identifiable from what is said and the material
is defamatory of them. This means that it would tend to
lower them in the estimation of right-thinking people
generally.
The claimant does not need to show that they suffered any
actual damage, nor that what was said was false. On the
contrary, the defendant generally has to prove that it was
true.
For more information about defamation and libel go to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1183394.
Contempt
This law protects the
integrity of the legal process from outside influences.
Contempt can take many forms but by far the most serious is
publication when legal proceedings are said to be "active".
In most criminal cases, the "active" period starts with the
granting of an arrest warrant, the arrest of a suspect, or
the issue of a summons or indictment. This may be well
before a person is charged.
Making comments either before the case has come to court, or
before a verdict is given could prejudice a trial,
regardless of whether this was done accidentally or not.
If a charity or organisation wants to react to the verdict
or sentence once a trial has finished that is fine.
NEXT >>>
|
