Topic
Law of defamation
Instructions
“If accusing a straight man of being gay is defamation, accusing a gay man of being straight must also be defamatory.” Critically discuss
Answer Preview
A defamation claim arises when one individual states something damaging in relation to another person. Nonetheless, if a petitioner could successfully take legal action every time his or her feelings are hurt, the legal system would have more defamation cases than they can handle. Therefore, in order for the courts to determine that a case is defamatory, it has to consider various elements considering how much defamation is complex. In the United Kingdom defamation is regulated in The Defamation Act 2013. The Act provides criteria in which a person can successfully claim under the tort of defamation. Section 1[1] provides “a statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the client”. Moreover, harm to the standing of an organization that makes deals for proceeds does not fall in the category of serious harm, except in the instances where such an organization has suffered serious financial loss[2].