The Australian National University is holding a Defamation Law Conference, “The Changing Landscape of Defamation” at ANU College of Law, The Australian National University on Tuesday 6 July 2021.

The landscape of defamation law in Australia and overseas has been shifting over the past decade and more. Whether as a result of the rapid advancement in information technology, or due to deeper changes in the normative underpinnings and morality of reputational protection, the law of defamation has received widespread public attention for its perceived inadequacies or outdatedness. Value-laden terms such as ‘libel tourism’ and ‘chilling effect’ have gained a foothold in the public conscience.

This has led to reform in Australia, with the Council of Attorneys-General adopting amendments to the model defamation law, and the New South Wales Parliament being the first to introduce an amendment bill, in 2020. Almost a decade earlier, there was statutory reform of defamation law in the United Kingdom, and even earlier than that, in New Zealand.

Where does this leave the landscape of defamation law – its normative and moral purposes, its scope, and its practical utility for individuals seeking reputational protection and vindication?

By bringing together leading scholars, practitioners and judges in the field of defamation law, this conference seeks to survey the landscape of defamation law, interrogating what defamation law is for, where its proper boundaries lie, the extent to which it is or should be influenced by online communications, and the future directions of reputational protection after the reforms.

The full details are as follows:

Registration:  at this link
Date: Tuesday 6 July 2021
Time: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Host: ANU College of Law, 5 Fellows Road, The Australian National University,
Canberra ACT 2600
Convenor: Dr Jelena Gligorijevic, ANU College of Law
Format: Hybrid virtual and in-person

Program

Time Session

9-9.15AM

LOG IN / REGISTRATION

9.15-9.30AM

WELCOME

Professor Sally Wheeler OBE, MRIA, FAcSS, Dean, ANU College of Law and Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Strategy), Australian National University

Dr Jelena Gligorijevic, ANU College of Law

9.30-11AM

PANEL 1 – ONLINE DIMENSION OF DEFAMATION LAW

Chair: Daniel Stewart, ANU College of Law

Dr Sue Gratton, Counsel, Law Commission of Ontario (Project Head, Defamation in Law the Internet Age (Final Report, 2020)) – “Internet Platforms and Online
Defamation”

Michael Douglas, University of Western Australia – “The grapevine effect online”

11-11.30AM

BREAK / MORNING TEA

11.30AM-1PM

PANEL 2 – CONTROLLING THE BOUNDARIES OF DEFAMATION LAW IN AUSTRALIA

Chair: Sue Chrysanthou SC, Barrister, 153 Phillip Barristers, Sydney

Professor David Rolph, University of Sydney – “The new public interest defence and the consequential changes to statutory qualified privilege”

Dr Matthew Collins AM QC, Victorian Bar – “The new contextual truth defence: is it more radical than first appears, and will it revive Polly Peck in Australia?”

1-2PM

BREAK / LUNCH

2-3.30PM

PANEL 3 – DEFAMATION LAW AFTER STATUTORY REFORM: OVERSEAS EXPERIENCES

Chair: Dr Damian Clifford, ANU College of Law

Dr Jelena Gligorijevic, ANU College of Law – “Narrowing defamation law in the UK and implications for Australia: serious harm, public interest, and honest opinion”

Julian Miles QC, Barrister, Richmond Chambers, Auckland – “Perspective from New Zealand”

3.30-4PM

BREAK / AFTERNOON TEA

4-5.30PM

PANEL 4 – DEFAMATION: SHIFTS, NORMS, AND INTERACTION WITH MEDIA FREEDOM

Chair: Dr Jelena Gligorijevic, ANU College of Law

Professor Andrew Kenyon, University of Melbourne

Dr Daniel Joyce, UNSW – “The public interest defence and public interest journalism: Australian defamation law’s failure to account for media freedom”

5.30-6PM

CLOSING STATEMENT

The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher Kourakis, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia