[WikiEN-l] Libel law

Thu Dec 8 12:25:45 UTC 2005

On 8 Dec 2005, at 11:28, Anthony DiPierro wrote:
>>
> But it's wrong to point out that most people on this list don't live
> in the UK, and therefore don't care about UK libel law?

Actually (ignoring the rest of this thread), UK libel law is probably
the most important in the world, mainly because it is so bad and you
can choose your jurisdiction. Cases have been heard where Americans
sue Americans about libels in US publications just because a few
copies reached the UK. For many years the UK was the only place any
major libel cases were heard (in the days of [[Peter Carter-Ruck]]),
as you could get serious damages and it was very much slanted in
your favour. It has changed a bit now. The main thing was you didnt
have to prove damages, unlike in the US; you would get a notional
(often large but once famously a penny) amount of damages for loss
of reputation.

Justinc