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A Crisis of Democratic Accountability: Public Libel Law and the Checking Function of the Press

A Crisis of Democratic Accountability: Public Libel Law and the Checking Function of the Press

Name: A Crisis of Democratic Accountability: Public Libel Law and the Checking Function of the Press
Brand: Hart Publishing
SKU: 9781509943708
Price: 479.05 HKD
Availability: InStock
Author: Randall Stephenson
ISBN: 9781509943708

By Randall Stephenson

Hart Publishing November 2020

Specifications

ISBN-13: 9781509943708
Publisher: Hart Publishing
Publication: November 2020
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

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Hardback

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This book undertakes a comparative study of the public interest and political speech defences in defamation law, particularly from the perspective of the misuse of democratic free expression justifications. Specifically, it argues that the law and legal approaches taken by leading courts and legislatures in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States – five common law comparators – are undertheorised, lack adequate criteria for determining the correct form of the defence, and would benefit from a more precise understanding of ‘democracy’, ‘accountability’, and ‘representation’. The book will be of great interest to scholars of free speech, defamation and public law.

Table of Contents

Part A: Introduction to the Problem of Public Libel Law

Overview of Part A

1. Balancing Freedom of Expression and Reputation in Constitutional Context

I. Defamation’s Moving Target: Balancing Free Expression and Reputation

II. Overview of Public Libel Doctrine

III. Continuum of Doctrinal Solutions

IV. Public Libel Law’s TheoryDoctrine Rift

V. Chapter Conclusion

2. Methodological Barriers to Democratic Theorising

I. Overview

II. Methodological Barrier I

III. Democratic Theorising in Public Libel Jurisprudence

IV. Methodological Barrier II

V. Moving Forward

Part B: Undertheorising Democratic Accountability: Comparative Law Analysis of Public Libel Doctrine

Overview of Part B

3. Indeterminate Balancing in Public Libel Doctrine: Generic Rules and ‘Implied Rights’

I. United States

II. Australia

III. Chapter Conclusion

4. Overlooking the Checking Function of the Press

I. Overview

II. Strasbourg Jurisprudence

III. United Kingdom

IV. New Zealand

V. Chapter Conclusion

5. Conflating Meiklejohnian Theory and the Checking Function of the Press

I. Overview

II. United Kingdom

III. Canada

IV. Chapter Conclusion

Part C: Reasserting Democratic Accountability

Overview of Part C

6. Distinguishing the Checking Function from Meiklejohnian Theory: Lessons from Public Accountability and Neo-Republicanism

I. Confronting a Conceptual Stalemate: ‘Representation’ and ‘Accountability’

II. Public Accountability Scholarship

III. Neo-Republicanism: A Return to Institutional Design

IV. Chapter Conclusion

7. A Revised Analytical Framework: Accountability Dysfunctions, Public Libel Doctrine, and the Institutional Press

I. Overview

II. Accountability Dysfunctions

III. The Institutional Press as a Horizontal Accountability Mechanism

IV. Public Libel Doctrine: Balancing Reputation and Freedom of Expression in Contemporary Democracies

V. Chapter Conclusion

Part D: Restoring Democratic Accountability

Overview of Part D

8. Assessing Britain’s Political Accountability Profile

I. Selecting a Law Reform Candidate

II. Britain’s Primary Accountability Mechanisms

III. Britain’s Secondary Accountability Mechanisms

IV. Chapter Conclusion

9. Reinstating the Checking Function in Britain’s Constitutional Context

I. Law Reform Recommendations

II. Discussion

III. Chapter Conclusion

Conclusion—Prospective Challenges to Public Libel Law Reform

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