Defamation and Freedom of Speech

• Examines the highly topical and controversial issue of balancing freedom of speech and the media with the right to reputation
• Discusses and compares the law in five jurisdictions in detail: England and Wales, the European Court of Human Rights, South Africa, Australia, and the USA
• Combines academic insight and rigour with current case law and legislative developments to make it of interest to scholars and of practical application for practitioners
• Confronts difficult philosophical questions in regard to the limits of freedom of expression and reputation in the specific context of the law of defamation
• Debates how aspects of privacy law can be used to shed light on the concept of public interest speech for defamation law

Readership: Scholars, academics, and advanced students of media law, constitutional law, freedom of information and speech law, human rights, civil rights, defamation law, and constitutional law, practitioners of defamation law, journalists, editors, and those interested in freedom of the media.

Dario Milo, Partner, Media Law Department, Webber Wentzel Bowens Attorneys, part-time lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

1: Introduction
2: The Right to Reputation
3: Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media
4: Public Speech
5: The Presumption of Falsity
6: Fault and Defamation Liability
7: Aspects of Damages and Costs
8: Alternative Remedies
9: Conclusion