In Munim Abdul and Others v Director of Public Prosecutions [2011] EWHC 247 (Admin) the High Court ruled that prosecution of a group of people who had shouted slogans, including, “burn in hell”, “baby killers” and “rapists” at a parade of British soldiers, was not a breach of their right to freedom of expression, protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Group defamation in the Supreme Court of Canada
Section 10 of the Defamation Act, 2009 provides
Where a person publishes a defamatory statement concerning a class of persons, a member of that class shall have a cause of action under this Act against that person if –
(a) by reason of the number of persons who are members of that class, or
(b) by virtue of the circumstances in which the statement is published,
the statement could reasonably be understood to refer, in particular, to the member concerned.
A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, noted here by Inforrm, can help fill in some of the gaps in that section. Some extracts:
Bou Malhab v. Diffusion Métromédia CMR inc., 2011 SCC 9 (CanLII) (17 March 2011)
Deschamps J. —
[1] The law of defamation is a tool for protecting personal reputations. This right keeps pace with changes in society and in the importance attached by society to freedom of expression. In Quebec, actions in defamation are governed by the general principles of civil liability. The flexibility of those principles makes it possible to address society’s growing concerns about freedom of expression. … The Court must examine the factors to consider when determining whether racist comments made about a group can cause a compensable injury.
