British Libel Law Seen As "Gold Digger's Charter"

Chronicle (Levin), 13 August 1949, Page 5

British Libel Law Seen As "Gold Digger's Charter"

Received Friday, 8.50 p.m. LONDON, August 12. Mr. Justice Slade, addressing the London Eotary Club, descrihed the present British law of libel as the "gold digger's charter." The judge said he hoped legislative effect would shortly be given to the recommendations of the Porter Committee on the law of libel. "If that is done I hope newspapers, magazines, authors and even tliose of us who only write letters will be relieved of libel actions in which costs and damages are always disproportionate to the injury, if any, sustained by plaintiff," continued Jndge Slade. Up to forty years ago, he said, it had always been supposed that there were two requisites to a sttccessful libel action — publication of a statement and intent to injure. In 1910, however, the House of Lords had decided that the second element was no longer necessary, and since then libel had become one of the most lucrative forms of litigation. "If you have a good case so much the better because no one knows the damages you are likelv to get," said the Judge. "You might get £25,000 snrh as a princess got for a libel of which she was not aware until it was pointed out to her, or you might get onlv one f arthing. ' ' There had never been a satisfactorv definition of a defamatory statement, said Judge Slade, but if the recommendaitons of the Porter Committee were accepted an apology could be demanded and any dispute about it could be settled by the eourt. Reference to the £25,000 damages nwarded to a princess in a libel action was to the action brought by the Russian Princess Youssoupoff against ihe Metro-G-oldwyn-Maver Film Corperation in 1931 when she claimed she was libelled in a film called "Easpntin the Mad Monk."