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Difference between revisions of "Defamation: Libel and Slander"
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Defamation: Libel and Slander (view source)
Revision as of 00:39, 19 February 2016
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Defamation is communication about a person that tends to hurt the person's reputation. It causes the reader or listener to think less of the person. The communication must be made to other people, not just to the person it's about. If defamation is spoken, then it is called ''slander''. If it is written, it is called ''libel''. It can also be a gesture, which is a type of slander. | Defamation is communication about a person that tends to hurt the person's reputation. It causes the reader or listener to think less of the person. The communication must be made to other people, not just to the person it's about. If defamation is spoken, then it is called ''slander''. If it is written, it is called ''libel''. It can also be a gesture, which is a type of slander. | ||
The law protects your reputation against defamation. If someone defames you, you can sue them for money (called ''damages'') for harming your reputation. You have to sue in Supreme Court, not Provincial Court, and you have to sue within 2 years of the defamation. This is the ''limitation period''. It starts when the defamatory statement was made or | The law protects your reputation against defamation. If someone defames you, you can sue them for money (called ''damages'') for harming your reputation. You have to sue in Supreme Court, not Provincial Court, and you have to sue within 2 years of the defamation. This is the ''limitation period''. It starts when the defamatory statement was made or published. For more on the court system, check script [[Our Court System and Solving Disputes (Script 432)|432]], called “Our Court System and Solving Disputes”. | ||
The law doesn't protect you from a personal insult or a remark that injures only your pride. It protects reputation, not feelings. So if someone calls you a lazy slob, you might be hurt, but you would not have a defamation complaint unless the statement was made to another person. | The law doesn't protect you from a personal insult or a remark that injures only your pride. It protects reputation, not feelings. So if someone calls you a lazy slob, you might be hurt, but you would not have a defamation complaint unless the statement was made to another person. | ||