The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation

Name: The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation
Brand: Hart Publishing
SKU: 9781841133041
Price: 1197.95 HKD
Availability: OutOfStock
Author: Paul Mitchell
ISBN: 9781841133041

By Paul Mitchell

Hart Publishing July 2005

Specifications

ISBN-13: 9781841133041
Publisher: Hart Publishing
Publication: July 2005
Format: Hardback , 400 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

The modern law of defamation is frequently criticised for being outdated, obscure and even incomprehensible. The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation explains how and why the law has come to be as it is by offering an historical analysis of its development from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Whilst the primary focus of the book is the law of England, it also makes extensive use of comparative common law materials from jurisdictions such as Australia, South Africa, the United States and Scotland. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the law of defamation, in media law and in the relationship between free speech and the law.

Contents:: Acknowledgements; Table of Cases; Table of Legislation; Introduction; Contents;; PART I: THE CLAIMANTS LOSS;; 1-LIBEL AND SLANDER ; 1 The Distinction; 2 Responses and Variations; 3 Slander; 4 Libel or Slander?; 5 Conclusion; 2-INTERPRETATION ; 1 General Principles; 2 Special Cases; 3 Conclusion; 3-DAMAGES; 1 Basic Compensation; 2 Factors Increasing Damages; 3 Factors Reducing Damages; 4 Conclusion; 4-INJUNCTIONS; 1 The Protection of Property Rights; 2 The Statutory Basis for Jurisdiction; 3 The Exercise of the Jurisdiction; 4 Conclusion ;; PART II: THE DEFENDANTS WRONG;; 5-FAULT IN ORDINARY LIABILITY ; 1 The Transition from Fault to Strict Liability; 2 The Legal Context; 3 The Newspaper Context; 4 Conclusion; 6-SECOND PUBLISHERS; 1 Repetition; 2 Distributors; 3 Omission to Prevent Defamation; 4 Conclusion; 7-QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE; 1 The Antecedents to Qualified Privilege; 2 The Emergence of Qualified Privilege; 3 The Responses to Toogood v Spyring; 4 The Contrast with South Africa; 5 Conclusion; 8-FAIR COMMENT; 1 From the End of the Eighteenth Century; 2 From the Middle of the Nineteenth Century; 3 From the Start of the Twentieth Century; 4 Conclusion; 9-ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE; 1 Parliamentary Proceedings; 2 The Executive; 3 Judicial Proceedings; 4 Conclusion; 10-REPORTS; 1 Reports of Judicial Proceedings; 2 Parliamentary Reports; 3 Reports of Public Meetings; 4 Reports of Public Documents; 5 Other Privileged Reports; 11-CONCLUSION; Index

About the Author

Paul Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer in Law at King's College London.

Reviews

The Making of the Modern Law of Defamation is an excellent piece of work and a welcome addition to the literature dealing with the history of defamation law. It is a scholarly, yet highly readable, monograph...The book is characterised by painstaking research, erudite analysis and a clarity of expression and structure that makes it a joy to read...this book is thoroughly researched, beautifully written and contains a wealth of material to delight the defamation aficionado. It is worthy of a place on any defamation bookshelf.
Michael Gillooly
Torts Law Journal
No 3

The most striking features of this book are its conciseness and preciseness…a rich source of references to many important and some less widely known academic works on the history of defamation law
Marie McGonagle
The Irish Jurist, Vol XL
2005

…a very well-written and interesting book. It deserves to be read as a whole, and there are thought-provoking arguments throughout…For the tort of defamation, there can be no excuses for such historical ignorance, with the advent of Paul Mitchell's fine book. Every serious student of the law of torts should read it.
Jonathan Morgan
The Law Quarterly Review, Vol 122
Oct 06

…provides considerable food for thought as to the appropriate classification of the law of defamation…this is an excellent book that anyone interested in the modern law of defamation should read.
Mark Lunney
The King's College Law Journal, Vol 17, Issue 1
2006

…a fascinating account…the case reports he considers provide a wealth of historical curiosity…a succinct and useful study of one of the most venerable parts of the common law. The scope of the book is considerable…valuable to both practitioners and academics who seek a deeper understanding…
John Townsend
Common Law World Review
Spring 2006

As the complexity of defamation law grows, the space devoted in most textbooks to an analysis of its historical origins has been shrinking. It is a welcome relief, therefore, to a see a book devoted to just such an analysis…this is an eminently readable book.
The Commonwealth Lawyer, Vol 14, No 3
Dec 05

[Mitchell] demonstrates convincingly how the law lost the internal coherence it possessed in the early 1800's, and does an excellent job of explaining its current oddities and anomalies…
J. Townsend
European Tort Law 2005 (Tort and Insurance Law Yearbook)
2006