Defamation Act 1952

The Defamation Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo 6 & 1 Eliz 2 c 66) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Defamation Act 1952[1]
Long titleAn Act to amend the law relating to libel and slander and other malicious falsehoods.
Citation15 & 16 Geo 6 & 1 Eliz 2 c 66
Territorial extentEngland and Wales and Scotland.[2]
Dates
Royal assent30 October 1952
Commencement30 November 1952
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

This Act implemented recommendations contained in the Report[3] of the Porter Committee. The recommendation made by the Committee in relation to the rule in Smith v Streatfield[4] was not implemented.[5]

Section 3 - Slander of title, etc

See Malicious falsehood#England and Wales and Verbal injury.

Section 5 - Justification
See English defamation law#Justification

This section was repealed by the Defamation Act 2013.

Section 15 - Legislative powers of Parliament of Northern Ireland

This section was repealed by Part I of Schedule 6 to the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

This section extended to Northern Ireland in addition to the other places to which this Act extended.[6]

This section provided that no limitation on the powers of the Parliament of Northern Ireland imposed by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 precluded that Parliament from making laws for purposes similar to the purposes of this Act.[7]

The Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 was made for purposes similar to the purposes of this Act.

Section 18

Section 18(1) provides that the Act came into force at the end of the period of one month that began on the date on which it was passed. The word "months" means calendar months.[8] The day (that is to say, 30 October 1952) on which the Act was passed (that is to say, received royal assent) is included in the period of one month.[9] This means that the Act came into force on 30 November 1952.

The words "(except section fifteen)" in section 18(2) were repealed by Part I of Schedule 6 to the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. This was consequential on the repeal of section 15 by that Part.

Section 18(3) repealed sections 4 and 6 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888.[10] It was repealed by Part XI of the Schedule to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1974.

See also

References
  1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 18(1) of this Act.
  2. The Defamation Act 1952, section 18(2) (as repealed in part by Part I of Schedule 6 to the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973).
  3. The Report of the Committee on the Law of Defamation. Cmd 7536. HMSO. 1948.
  4. Smith v Streatfield [1913] 3 KB 764, 82 LJKB 1237, 109 LT 173, 29 TLR 707
  5. Clerk and Lindsell on Torts. Sixteenth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1989. Footnote 2 to paragraph 21-01 at page 1081.
  6. The Defamation Act 1952, section 18(2)
  7. Copy of the original text of section 15 from Legislation.gov.uk
  8. The Interpretation Act 1978, section 5 and Schedule 1
  9. Hare v Gocher [1962] 2 QB 641, [1962] 2 All ER 673; Trow v Ind Coope (West Midlands) Ltd [1967] 2 QB 899 at 909, [1967] 2 All ER 900, CA.
  10. Copy of the original text of section 18 from Legislation.gov.uk
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