Free Speech V Reputation: Public Interest Defence in American and English Law of Defamation Contributor(s): Adibe, Jideofor Patrick (Author) |
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ISBN: 1906704325 ISBN-13: 9781906704322 Publisher: Adonis & Abbey Publishers OUR PRICE: $28.50 Product Type: Hardcover Published: January 2010 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Law | Defamation - Law | Media & The Law - Law | Privacy |
Dewey: 346 |
Physical Information: 0.38" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.64 lbs) 110 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Free speech is increasingly recognised as a universal human value, even though its application differs in different jurisdictions. Free speech is however never absolute, even in jurisdictions like the USA, where the First and Fourteenth Amendments give it special protection. The main reason why free speech cannot be absolute is because it competes with other equally important human values such as the right to privacy, reputation or to protect societies from potential harms from unresrtrained hate or obscene speech. In this study the author looks at how free speech interests are balanced against the need to protect reputation in American and English defamation laws. Cases from both countries are studied to see how this tension is resolved. Special attention is given to 'public interest' defence since the media often justifies its attack on reputation on 'public interest', even when it is substiuting its own interest for this 'public interest'. The premise of the study is that while freedom of the press is desirable and cherishable, it is important that the individual is recognised as the foundational block of human rights and the democratic process, who is entitled to his reputation as part of his human dignity. If the notion of human rights is necessarily anti-majoritarian in principle, it means that cases in which the press uses public interest defence to attack reputations require close analyses to ensure that both the individual and the public good are equally protected. |