30.1.08

Should critics be subject to defamation law?



The Court of Appeal in Belfast has retired to consider its decision on whether to allow an appeal by the Irish News against a £25,000 libel award over a restaurant review.





As previously reported on Mediabeak, last year a jury decided that the paper should pay out for publishing a review of Goodfellas Restaurant in Belfast that was critical of the eating experience and awarded a low star rating. What may seemingly be a regular libel action harbours significant issues over whether subjective reviews should be subject to libel law and, if they are, what that means for the competing right of free speech.

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