LIBEL AND SLANDER 1

THE LIBEL AND SLANDER ACT

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Short title.

PART I. Defamatory words and Libel

2. Apology admissible in evidence in mitigation of damages.
3. In action for libel in a newspaper what defendant may plead.
4. Libels to extort money.
5. Publishing libel, knowing it to be false.
6. Malicious defamatory libels.
7. Proceedings upon trial of indictment for defamatory libel.
8. Prima fade case of publication by agent may be disproved.
9. Costs.

10. How costs to be recovered

PART II. Newspaper LibeI

11. “Newspaper” dehed.
12 No criminal proceeding for libel without fiat of Director of

Public Prosecutions.
13. Hearing before Resident Magistrate.
14. Duty of Resident Magistrate where libel of trivial character.
IS. Report of judicial proceedings.
16. Consolidation of actions.
17. In-giving under Licences on Trades and Business Act prima

facie evidence.

PART III. Slander of Women

18. Special damage.
COStS.

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LIBEL AND SLANDER 3

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33 of 1%1

THE LIBEL AND SLANDER ACT

1. This Act may be cited as the Libel and Slander Act. aofltifle.

Defamatory Words and Libel
2. In any action for defamation, it shall be lawful for Apology

the defendant (after notice, in writing, of his intention In . evideaa
so to do, duly given, to the plaintif€ at the time of filing :02y-
or delivering the plea in such action), to give in evidence damages
in mitigation of damages, that he made, or offered, an
apology to the plaintiff for such defamation before the
commencement of the action or as soon afterwards as he
had an opportunity of doing so, in case the action shall
have been commend before there was an opportunity of
making or offering such apology.

3. In an action for a libel contained in any public news- baction
paper, or other periodical publication, it shall be competent . in a ~ C W B

such newspaper or other periodical publication without m y d a d .
actual malice, and without gross negligence; and that before
the commencement of the action, or at the earliest opportu-
nity afterwards, he inserted in such newspaper or other
periodical publication, a full apology for the said libel; or,
if the newspaper or periodical publication in which the
said libel appeared should be ordinarily published at
intervals exceeding one week, had offered to publish the said
apology in any newspaper, or periodical publication, to be
selected by the plaintiff in such action; and every such
defendant shall, upon filing such plea, be at liberty to pay

PART I.

admhhble

for libel

to the defendant to plead that such libel was inserted in p p U what
dCff3ldaDt

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4 LZBEL AND SLANDER

into court a sum of money, by way of amends, for the injury
sustained by the publication of such libel; and such payment
into court shall be of the same effect, and be available in
the same manner, and to the same extent, and be subject to
the same rules and regulations as to payment of costs, as
payments of money into court in personal actions, under
the rules and practice of the Supreme Court; and that to
such plea to such action, it shall be competent to the plain-
tiff to reply generally, denying the whole of such plea:

Provided always, that it shall not be competent to any
defendant in such action to file any such plea, without at
the same time making a payment of money into court by
way of amends; but every such plea so filed without pay-
ment of money into court shall be deemed a nullity, and
may be treated as such by the plaintiff in the action.

4. If any person shall publish, or threaten to publish,
any libel upon any other person, or shall directly or in-
directly threaten to print or publish, or shall directly or
indirectly propose to abstain from printing or publishing,
or shall directly or indirectly offer to prevent the printing
or publishing, of any matter or thing touching any other
person, with intent to extort any money, or security for
money, or any valuable thing from such or any other person,
or with intent to induce any person to confer, or procure
for any person, any appointment, or office of profit or trust;
every such offender, on being convicted thereof, shall be
liable to be imprisoned with or without hard labour for a
term not exceeding three years :

Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall in
any manner alter or affect any law now in force in respect
of the sending or delivery of threatening letters or Writings.

5. If any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory
libel, knowing the same to be false, every such person,
being convicted thereof, shall be liable to be imprisoned for

me inclusion of thii page is authorized by L.N. 480/19731

Libels to
CxtOrt
money.

Publishing
libel. know-
ing it to be
falsc.

.
,

LZBEL AND SLANDER 5

a term not exceeding two years, and to pay such fine as the
court shall impose.

libel, every such person, being convicted thereof, shall be Libsls,
liable to fine or imprisonment or both, as the court may
impose, such imprisonment not to exceed the term of one
year.

6. If any person shall maliciously publish any defamatory Malicious
defamatory

7. On the trial of any indictment or information for a ~ro~eedings
defamatory libel, the defendant having pleaded such plea upon of indict. trial

ment for
defamatory

as hereinafter mentioned, the truth of the matters charged
may be enquired into, but shall not amount to a defence, libd.
unless it was for the public benefit that the said matters
charged should be published; and to entitle the defendant to
give evidence of the truth of such matters charged as a
defence, to such indictment or information, it shall be
necessary for the defendant, in pleading to the said indict-
ment or information, to allege the truth of the said matters
charged in the manner now required in pleading a justifica-
tion to an action for defamation; and further to allege that
it was for the public benefit that the said matters charged
should be published, and the particular fact or facts by
reason whereof it was for the public benefit that the said
matters charged should be published; to which plea the pro-
secutor shall be at liberty to reply generally, denying the
whole thereof; and if after such plea, the defendant shall be
convicted on such indictment, or information, it shall be
competent to the court, in pronouncing sentence, to con-
sider whether the guilt of the defendant is aggravated or
mitigated by the said plea, and by the evidence given to
prove, or to disprove the same :

Provided always, that the truth of the matters charged
in the alleged libel complained of by such indictment or
information shall, in no case, be inquired into without such
plea of justification :

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6 LIBEL AND SLANDER

Provided also, that in addition to such plea it shall be
competent to the defendant to plead a plea of not guilty:

Provided also, that nothing in this Act contained shall
take away or prejudice any defence under the plea of not
guilty, which it is now competent to the defendant to make,
under such plea, to any action or indictment or information
for defamatory words or libel.

Primafacie 8. Whensoever, upon the trial of any indictment or
case of
publication information for the publication of a libel, under the plea
may byagent be of not guilty, evidence shall have been given which shall
disproved. establish a presumptive case of publication against the

defendant by the act of any other person by his authority,
it shall be competent to such defendant to prove that such
publication was made without his authority, consent, or
knowledge and that the said publication did not arise from
want of due care, or caution on his part.

costa. 9. In the case of any indictment or information by a
private prosecutor for the publication of any defamatory
libel, if judgment shall be given for the defendant, he shall
be entitled to recover from the prosecutor the costs sustained
by the said defendant by reason of such indictment or
information; and upon a special plea of justitication to such
indictment or information, if the issue be found for the
prosecution, he shall be entitled to recover from the
defendant the costs sustained by the prosecutor by reason
of such plea, such costs, so to be recovered by the defendant
or prosecutor respectively, to be taxed by the proper
officer of the court before which the said indictment or
information is tried.

10. In all cases where a general verdict of guilty or not
guilty shall be returned by the jury on the trial of any
indictment or information to which a plea of justification
has been filed, under the provisions of this Part, the costs,

~ o w a r ~ t a
tobe
-,"ad.

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LZBEL AND SLANDER 7

when taxed by the proper officer shall be paid and payable
by the private prosecutor, or defendant, as the case may
be, to the other party, and may be enforced by the attach-
ment under the seal of the court, or by a writ of feri fuciuq
issued in the form now used for the enforcement of judg-
ment.

PART 11. Newspaper Libel
11. In this Part of this Act “newspaper” shall mean “News-

any paper containing public news, intelligence, or occur- paper” defined.
rences, or any remarks or observations thereon printed for
sale and published in Jamaica periodically or in parts or
numbers at intervals not exceeding twenty-six days between
the publication of any two such papers, parts or numbers.

12. No criminal proceedings shall be commenced against ~ o a i m i n a l
proceeding

my proprietor, publisher, editor, or any person responsible forlibel
for the publication of a newspaper, for any libel published ;:$
therein, without the fiat of the Director of Public Prosecu- Director of

Public
Prowcu-
tiOnS.

tions being first had and obtained.

13. A Resident Magistrate upon the hearing of a charge ~~~i~
against a proprietor, publisher, or editor, or any person p$gmt
responsible for the publication of a newspaper, for a libel Magiatrate.
published therein, may receive evidence BS to the publica-
tion being for the public benefit, and as to the matters
charged in the libel being true, and as to the report being
fair and accurate, and published without malice, and as to
any matter which under this or any other enactment, or
otherwise, might be given in evidence, by way of defence by
the person charged on his trial on indictment, and the
Resident Magistrate if of opinion after hearing such
evidence that there is a strong or probable presumption
that the jury on the trial would aquit the person charged,
may dismiss the case.

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8 LIBEL A N D SLANDER

Duty of
Resident
Maeistrate
wh& libel
of trivial
character

42/1%9
3rd Sch.

Report of
judicd
proceedings.

Consolida-
tion of
actions.

14. If a Resident Magistrate upon the hearing of a
charge against a proprietor, publisher, editor, or any person
responsible for the publication of a newspaper for a libel
published therein, is of opinion that though the person
charged is shown to have been guilty, the libel was of a
trivial character, and that the offence may be adequately
punished by virtue of the powers of this section, the
Resident Magistrate shall cause the charge to be read to
the person charged, and then address a question to him to
the following effect: ’‘ Do you desire to be tried by a jury
or do you consent to the case being dealt with summarily?”
and, if such person assents to the case being dealt with
summarily, the Resident Magistrate may summarily convict
him and adjudge him to pay a fine not exceeding one
hundred dollars, and in default to be imprisoned for a
period not exceeding three months.

15. A fair and accurate report in any newspaper of
proceedings publicly heard before any court exercising
judicial authority shall, if published contemporaneously
with such proceedings, be privileged :

Provided that nothing in this section shall authorize the
publication of any seditious, blasphemous or indecent
matter.

16.41) It shall be competent for a judge of the Supreme
Court upon an application by or on behalf of two or more
defendants in actions in respect to the same or substantially
the same libel brought by one and the same person, to make
an order for the consolidation of such actions, so that they
shall be tried together; and after such order has been made,
and before the trial of the said actions, the defendants in
any new actions instituted in respect of the same or sub-
stantially the same libel, shall also be entitled to be joined
in a common action upon a joint application being made by

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LIBEL AND SLANDER

such new defendants and the defendants in the actions
already consolidated.

In a consolidated action under this section the jury shall
assess the whole amount of the damages (if any) in one sum,
but a separate verdict shall be taken for or against each
defendant in the Same way as if the actions consolidated
had been tried separately; and if the jury shall have found
a verdict against the defendant or defendants in more than
one of the actions so consolidated, they shall proceed to
apportion the amount of damages which they shall have so
found between and against the said last-mentioned
defendants; and the Judge, at the trial, if he awards to the
plaint8 the costs of the action, shall thereupon make such
order as he shall deem just for the apportionment of such
costs between and against such defendants.

9

(2) Subsection 1 shall apply to actions for slander 3311961
and to actions for slander of title, slander of goods or othcr S. 15.
malicious falsehood as it applies to actions for libel; and
references in that subsection to the same, or substantially
the same, libel shall be construed accordingly.

17. Every in-giving under or in pursuanoe of section In-giving
17 of the Licences on Trades and Business Act which E$,mso,
provides for proprietors of newspapers to give certain Trades and
information to the Collector of Taxes, shall in all proceed- Act grrmo
ings, civil or criminal, be accepted as sufficient prima fncie
evidence of all the matters and things thereby appearing,
unless and until the contrary thereof be shown.

Business

PART III. Slander of Women

tity or adultery to any woman or girl, shall not require
spxial damage to render them actionable:

18. Words spoken and published which impute unchas- Special
damage

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10 LIBEL AND SLANDER

Gxts. Provided always, that in any action for words spoken and
made actionable by this section, a plaintiff shall not recover
more costs than damages, unless the Judge shall certify that
there was reasonable ground for bringing the action.

[The inclusion of this page is authorized by LN. 480/1973]