The review of the Defamation Act 2009 is a legislative priority for the Government. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to review and reform defamation laws to ensure a balanced approach to the right to freedom of expression, the right to protection of good name and reputation, and the right of access to justice.
My Department has already completed extensive work on the defamation review, including holding a public consultation, publishing all submissions received, detailed consideration of the many issues raised, examining relevant reforms in other jurisdictions, organising a symposium on defamation law reform, and careful consideration of recent European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case law.
Unfortunately, completion of the review was delayed in 2020, due to the need to prepare and enact urgent legislation to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.
My Department is now finalising the report of the defamation review, with options for change to the law, and I expect to receive the report in the near future. I intend to publish it, subject to Government agreement, by the end of March. As a measure of the Government's commitment to this reform, I have already included the Defamation (Amendment) Bill, to implement the resulting legislative changes, in the Government’s updated Legislation Programme, which was published on 13 January 2021.