Defamation

Law exists to protect the moral and professional reputation of the individual from unfair attack. My understanding of Defamation is legal declare for false statements of published facts about a person, which lover their reputation or make people think less of somebody without justification.

The following examples show how reputation can be lowered and therefore, when a statement becomes defamatory

•Exposes them to hatred, ridicule or contempt
•Causes them to be shunned or avoided
•Discredits them in their trade, business or profession
•Generally lowers them in the eyes of right-thinking members of society

The statement, however, can be protected by defence in libel law.

A statement to be Libel it has to include:
Defamatory,
An identified person who has been defamed
Publication to a third party.
It is quite similar to Slander, which is the type of defamation with no permanent record. Normally it's a spoken statement. It requires defamation and identification but NO publication to a third party. For example, it can be seen as a form of conversation.

The main defences:
•Justification- It must be true and it needs to be proved- then it can be seen as complete defence.
•Fair comment- it has to be an honest opinion based on fact. No malice should be included.
•Qualified Privilege- which is a specific protection against an action of defamation given in the first place to judges, lawyers, and witnesses in court cases.