The Canadian Supreme Court ruled on 23 December to strengthen the public interest defence in libel cases. The chief justice stated that the law as it stood did not “give adequate weight” to free expression. The court also moved to change the wording of the defence of “responsible journalism” to “responsible communication”, which potentially allows the law to cover new media such as blogs. The decision followed high profile libel cases involving two newspapers, the Star and the Ottawa Citizen.
NEWS
Canada takes chill off libel laws
The Canadian Supreme Court ruled on 23 December to strengthen the public interest defence in libel cases. The chief justice stated that the law as it stood did not “give adequate weight” to free expression. The court also moved to change the wording of the defence of “responsible journalism” to “responsible communication”, which potentially allows […]
23 Dec 09
READ MORE
-
An ode to banned books
In honour of Banned Books Week, the team at Index on Censorship highlight their favourite books that have historically been banned
-
‘Thank Gary Lineker for being a true advocate for refugees’
A sports journalist, who can't work safely in Afghanistan anymore, tells us why Gary Lineker's stance meant so much to him
-
Major new global free expression index sees UK ranking stumble across academic, digital and media freedom
A major new global ranking index tracking the state of free expression is published today
-
A memorial for the man who told the world about the Babyn Yar massacre
Anatoly Kuznetsov is the author of Babi Yar: A Document in the Form of a Novel. His memoir is a masterpiece of Ukrainian literature and a testament...