(1) Any person who, without lawful excuse, publishes matter defamatory of
another living person (the
"relevant person" )—
(a) knowing the matter to be false or without having
regard to whether the matter is true or false; and
(b) intending to cause
serious harm to the relevant person or any other person or without having
regard to whether serious harm to the relevant person or any other person is
caused;
commits a misdemeanour.
Penalty—
Maximum penalty—3 years
imprisonment.
(2) In a proceeding for an offence defined in this section,
the accused person has a lawful excuse for the publication of defamatory
matter about the relevant person if, and only if, subsection (3) applies.
(3)
This subsection applies if the accused person would, having regard only to the
circumstances happening before or at the time of the publication, have had a
relevant defence for the publication if the relevant person had brought civil
proceedings for defamation against the accused person.
(4) The prosecution
has the burden of negativing the existence of a lawful excuse if, and only if,
evidence directed to establishing the excuse is first adduced by or on behalf
of the accused person.
(5) Whether the matter complained of is capable of
bearing a defamatory meaning is a question of law.
(6) Whether the matter
complained of does bear a defamatory meaning is a question of fact.
(7) A
person can not be prosecuted for an offence defined in this section without
the consent of the director of public prosecutions.
(8) In this section—
"defamatory" has the meaning that it has in the law of tort (as modified by
the Defamation Act 2005) relating to defamation.
"modified statutory defence of justification" means the defence stated in the
Defamation Act 2005, section 25as if that section provided that it is a
defence to the publication of defamatory matter if the defendant proves
that—
(a) the defamatory imputations carried by the matter of which the
relevant person complains are substantially true; and
(b) it was for the
public benefit that the publication should be made.
"publish" has the meaning that it has in the law of tort (as modified by the
Defamation Act 2005) relating to defamation.