LAWS204 Study Guide - Breaking The Chain, Cook Group, Responsible Government
Document Summary
Defamation is the branch of law which protects reputation against unjustifiable attack. The plaintiff in a defamatory action must establish that: 1: a defamatory statement has been made; A definition of defamation" has not been attempted in any statute, so one must resort to the common law cases. Statements which cause people to shun and avoid" the plaintiff; pearce. Generally the courts will take the natural and ordinary meaning of the words; that is to say, the meaning that would be attributed to them by ordinary readers and listeners. Sometimes it will decide that the words bear a further meaning (innuendo) which would be appreciated only by a limited number of people in possession of special knowledge. Where the plaintiff does not plead an innuendo, the words complained of must be construed in their natural and ordinary meaning. Sometimes a statement is capable of conveying a particular shade of meaning or inference.
