Defamation Act, 1961

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 40/1961
• Year: 1961

Number 40 of 1961.
DEFAMATION ACT, 1961.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title. 2. Interpretation generally. 3. Commencement and proceedings affected. 4. Repeals. 5. Competence of jury to give general verdict on trial of indictment for libel.
PART II
Criminal Proceedings for Libel
6. Plea of truth of matters charged on trial for defamatory libel and that publication was for public benefit. 7. Evidence by person charged to rebut prima facie case of publication by his agent. 8. Order of Judge required for prosecution of newspaper proprietor, etc. 9. Inquiry as to libel being for public benefit or being true. 10. Provisions as to summary conviction for libel. 11. Penalty for maliciously publishing defamatory libel. 12. Penalty for maliciously publishing libel known to be false. 13. Penalty for printing or publishing blasphemous or obscene libel.
PART III
Civil Proceedings for Defamation
14. Interpretation. (Part III). 15. Broadcast statements. 16. Words imputing unchastity or adultery actionable without special damage. 17. Offer of an apology admissible in evidence in mitigation of damages in action for defamation. 18. Newspaper and broadcast reports of proceedings in court privileged. 19. Slander affecting official, professional or business reputation. 20. Slander of title, etc. 21. Unintentional defamation. 22. Justification. 23 Fair comment. 24. Qualified privilege of certain newspaper and broadcasting reports. 25. Agreements for indemnity. 26. Evidence of other damages recovered by plaintiff. 27. Obligation on certain newspaper proprietors to be registered under the Registration of Business Names Act, 1916. 28. Saving.
FIRST SCHEDULE.
Enactments Repealed
SECOND SCHEDULE.
Statements having qualified privilege
Acts Referred to Local Government Act, 1941 1941, No. 23 Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 1926, No. 45 Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 1960, No. 10 Telegraph Act, 1863 1863, c. 112 Libel Amendment Act, 1888 1888, c. 64
Number 40 of 1961.
DEFAMATION ACT, 1961.
AN ACT TO CONSOLIDATE WITH AMENDMENTS CERTAIN ENACTMENTS RELATING TO THE LAW OF DEFAMATION. [17th August, 1961.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS :—
PART I Preliminary And General
	Short title.	1.—This Act may be cited as the Defamation Act, 1961.
	Interpretation generally.	2.—In this Act—
	“local authority”has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act, 1941 ;“newspaper” except in section 27, means any paper containing public news or observations thereon, or consisting wholly or mainly of advertisements, which is printed for sale and is published in the State or in Northern Ireland either periodically or in parts or numbers at intervals not exceeding thirty-six days;
	“proprietor”means, as well as the sole proprietor of any newspaper, in the case of a divided proprietorship, the persons who, as partners or otherwise, represent or are responsible for any share or interest in the newspaper as between themselves and the
	persons in like manner representing or responsible for the other shares or interests therein, and no other person.
	Commencement and proceedings affected.	3.—(1) This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1962.
	(2) Part III of this Act shall apply for the purposes of any proceedings begun after the commencement of this Act, whenever the cause of action arose, but shall not affect any proceedings commenced before the commencement of this Act.
	Repeals.	4.—The enactments specified in the First Schedule to this Act Repeals, are hereby repealed.
PART II Criminal Proceedings for Libel
	Competence of jury to give general verdict on trial of indictment for libel.	5.—(1) On every trial of an indictment for making or publishing any libel to which a plea of not guilty is entered, the jury may give a general verdict of guilty or not guilty upon the whole matter put in issue on the indictment, and the jury shall not be required or directed by the court to find the person charged guilty merely on the proof of the publication by him of the paper charged to be a libel and of the sense ascribed to such paper in the indictment.
	(2) On every such trial the court shall, according to its discretion, give its opinion and directions to the jury on the matter in issue in like manner as in other criminal cases.
	(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not operate to prevent the jury from finding a special verdict, in their discretion, as in other criminal cases.
	Plea of truth of matters charged on trial for defamatory libel and that publication was for public benefit.	6.—On the trial of any indictment for a defamatory libel, the person charged having pleaded such plea as hereinafter mentioned, the truth of the matters charged may be inquired into but shall not amount to a defence, unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published; and, to entitle thedefendant to give evidence of the truth of such matters charged as a defence to such indictment, it shall be necessary for the person charged, in pleading to the said indictment, to allege the truth of the said matters charged, in the manner required in pleading a justification to an action for defamation, and further to allege that it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published, and the particular fact or facts by reason of which it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged should be published, to which plea the prosecutor shall be at liberty to reply generally, denying the whole thereof; and if, after such plea, the person charged is convicted on such indictment, the court may, in pronouncing sentence, consider whether his guilt is aggravated or mitigated by the said plea and by the evidence given to prove or to disprove the same: provided that—
	(a) the truth of the matters charged in the alleged libel complained of by such indictment shall in no case be inquired into without such plea of justification;
	(b) in addition to such plea of justification, the person charged may enter a plea of not guilty;
	(c) nothing in this section shall take away or prejudice any defence under the plea of not guilty which it is competent to the person charged to make under such plea to any indictment for defamatory libel.
	Evidence by person charged to rebut prima facie case of publication by his agent.	7.—Whenever, upon the trial of an indictment for the publication of a libel, a plea of not guilty having been entered, evidence is given establishing a presumption of publication against the person charged by the act of any other person by his authority, it shall be competent for the person charged to prove that the publication was made without his authority, consent or knowledge and that the publication did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part.
	Order of Judge required for prosecution of newspaper proprietor, etc.	8.—No criminal prosecution shall be commenced against any proprietor, publisher, editor or any person responsible for the publication of a newspaper for any libel published therein without the order of a Judge of the High Court sitting in camera being first had and obtained, and every application for such order shall be made on notice to the person accused, who shall have an opportunity of being heard against the application.
	Inquiry as to libel being for public benefit or being true.	9.—A Justice of the District Court, upon the hearing of a charge against a proprietor, publisher or editor or any person responsible for the publication of a newspaper for a libel published therein, may receive evidence as to the publication being for the public benefit, as to the matters charged in the libel being true, as to the report being fair and accurate and published without malice and as to any matter which, under this or any other Act or otherwise, might be given in evidence by way of defence by the person charged on his trial on indictment, and the Justice, if of opinion after hearing such evidence that there is a strong or probable presumption that the jury on the trial would acquit the person charged, may dismiss the case.
	Provisions as to summary conviction for libel.	10.—If a Justice of the District Court, upon the hearing of a charge against a proprietor, publisher, editor or any person responsible for the publication of a newspaper for a libel published therein, is of opinion that, though the person charged is shown to have been guilty, the libel was of a trivial character and that the offence may be adequately punished by virtue of the powers conferred by this section, the Justice shall cause the charge to be reduced into writing and read to the person charged and shall then ask him if he desires to be tried by a jury or consents to the case being dealt with summarily, and, if such person consents to the case being dealt with summarily, may summarily convict him, and impose on him a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, and the Summary Jurisdiction Acts shall apply accordingly.
	Penalty for maliciously publishing defamatory libel.	11.—Every person who maliciously publishes any defamatory libel shall, on conviction thereof on indictment, be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.
	Penalty for maliciously publishing libel known to be false.	12.—Every person who maliciously publishes any defamatory libel, knowing the same to be false...