Previous Headline
April 2008
Criticising an elected representative is politics. Defaming him leads to liability…
Can I ensure that I am not sued by apologizing to the person that I defamed?
No. However, apologizing may lessen the damages incurred by the victim of the defamation.
Are there any types of defamation that go unpunished?
Yes. There must be malicious intent or negligence on the part of the person who carried out the defamation in order to reproach her with a fault. The question that will be asked is whether a reasonable person would have acted in the same way.
It is also possible that the defamatory statements did not cause harm to the person who was defamed. In that case, there will be nothing to pay.
Finally, remember that there will never be a criminal condemnation against a person defaming another unless the court is convinced that the person purposely attacked the reputation of the victim.
Can an ordinary citizen still criticize an elected representative?
Of course! Nothing stops a citizen from reporting true information about an elected representative if that information is directly related to the responsibilities or capacity of the elected representative.
In the case that we mentioned at the beginning of this text, the citizen had the right to question the way the affairs of his city were being carried out, but he made several mistakes:
- He didn’t personally check the terms of the agreement that he was denouncing;
- He used words that lead to believe that a fraud may have been committed;
- He personally sent a copy of his letter to the media;
- He refused to apologize, which could have lessened the amount of the damages caused.
To learn more about “fault” and “responsibility”, consult our Infosheet entitled:
