Jones –v-Skelton [1963] 1 WLR 1362, 1370, a decision of the Privy Council
Citation: Jones –v-Skelton [1963] 1 WLR 1362, 1370, a decision of the Privy Council
Rule of thumb: How do you successfully make a defamation case? It has to be short – if the explanation is too long-winded it suggests it is a matter of opinion rather than defamation. The Court held that people should not be reading too much into content to state that it is defamatory. In short, where someone is vague & indirect in making a point then it will lack the specification required for a successful defamation action.
Judgment:
The Court held that people should not be reading too much into content to state that it is defamatory. In short, where someone is vague & indirect in making a point then it will lack the specification required for a successful defamation action, ‘there has to be a certain minimum level of directness with what is being said in order for it to be defamatory, In deciding whether words are capable of conveying a defamatory meaning, the court will reject those meanings which can only emerge as the product of some strained or forced or utterly unreasonable interpretation’ Lord Morris
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.