By Nicholas Olson -
Snapshot
- The evolution of defamation law reflects a shifting balance between individual reputational rights and collective freedoms of expression and information.
- The concept of ‘the public interest’ is the fulcrum of this balance, giving the courts leeway to weigh the gravity of those competing rights.
- This article charts the development of this somewhat mercurial concept and gathers insights on its contemporary definition and operation in defamation law.
One of the characteristics of defamation law is that it involves what Spigelman CJ described in John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Jones [2004] NSWCA 205 as ‘the continual challenge’ of reconciling individuals’ right to the protection of their reputation with the right to freedom of speech, the right to freedom of expression and the community’s right to be informed (at [7]).
The concept of ‘the public interest’ has long been a mechanism by which the law has mediated the tension between these competing public and private rights. In the last five years, however, statutory reforms in defamation law have increased focus on the concept of public interest.
