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Libel blow for Golding
Published: Friday | July 23, 2010 5 Comments and 0 Reactions
Golding
PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding's attempt to sue United States [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]network[/COLOR][/COLOR] ABC for having referred to him as "a known criminal affiliate" of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke hit a major snag on Monday, when the US Senate voted to protect its journalists from judgments that undermine that country's guarantee of free speech. The bill has been sent to the House for ratification.
Information Minister Daryl Vaz has said the prime minister's legal counsel has written to ABC seeking redress for its claims.
Golding expressed outrage at the claim and has said that attempts to link him personally with the alleged drug kingpin "were clearly part of a conspiracy to undermine the duly elected Government of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR]".
The Senate's approval of the bill means that the US federal courts would be prevented from recognising or enforcing a foreign judgment for defamation that is inconsistent with the free speech guarantee in the US constitution.
Defendants in foreign cases could obtain a US court order declaring that a foreign judgment would not be enforceable under American law.
America won't be used
Chief sponsor Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said the bill would prevent US courts from becoming a tool to undermine that country's constitution.
"The import of the bill before the US Senate is that foreign judgments (non-US) from countries which do not share the same or equivalent constitutional guarantees and protection for freedom of speech will not be either recognised or enforceable in the US," local [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]attorney[/COLOR][/COLOR] Walter Scott said.
Some countries with weak free speech protections make it easy to sue foreigners for libel, a practice known as libel tourism. Golding could theoretically attempt to sue ABC in countries where ABC had offices and published the story. This practice, known as libel tourism, is utilised by several persons who have found it near impossible to bring successful libel suits against media in the United States.
"On a broad scale, libel [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]tourism[/COLOR][/COLOR] results in a race to the bottom, and can cause Americans to defer to the country with the most chilling and restrictive free speech standard, to determine what they can write or publish," Leahy said, according to the Associated Press.
The US media practitioners and publishers are protected under the Sullivan rule, which makes it almost impossible for public officials to win libel suits.
Public officials must prove malice and utmost disregard for the truth to win a libel battle in the United States.
Published: Friday | July 23, 2010 5 Comments and 0 Reactions
Golding
PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding's attempt to sue United States [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]network[/COLOR][/COLOR] ABC for having referred to him as "a known criminal affiliate" of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke hit a major snag on Monday, when the US Senate voted to protect its journalists from judgments that undermine that country's guarantee of free speech. The bill has been sent to the House for ratification.
Information Minister Daryl Vaz has said the prime minister's legal counsel has written to ABC seeking redress for its claims.
Golding expressed outrage at the claim and has said that attempts to link him personally with the alleged drug kingpin "were clearly part of a conspiracy to undermine the duly elected Government of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR]".
The Senate's approval of the bill means that the US federal courts would be prevented from recognising or enforcing a foreign judgment for defamation that is inconsistent with the free speech guarantee in the US constitution.
Defendants in foreign cases could obtain a US court order declaring that a foreign judgment would not be enforceable under American law.
America won't be used
Chief sponsor Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said the bill would prevent US courts from becoming a tool to undermine that country's constitution.
"The import of the bill before the US Senate is that foreign judgments (non-US) from countries which do not share the same or equivalent constitutional guarantees and protection for freedom of speech will not be either recognised or enforceable in the US," local [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]attorney[/COLOR][/COLOR] Walter Scott said.
Some countries with weak free speech protections make it easy to sue foreigners for libel, a practice known as libel tourism. Golding could theoretically attempt to sue ABC in countries where ABC had offices and published the story. This practice, known as libel tourism, is utilised by several persons who have found it near impossible to bring successful libel suits against media in the United States.
"On a broad scale, libel [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]tourism[/COLOR][/COLOR] results in a race to the bottom, and can cause Americans to defer to the country with the most chilling and restrictive free speech standard, to determine what they can write or publish," Leahy said, according to the Associated Press.
The US media practitioners and publishers are protected under the Sullivan rule, which makes it almost impossible for public officials to win libel suits.
Public officials must prove malice and utmost disregard for the truth to win a libel battle in the United States.