Defamation Act 1996

Defamation Act 1996
Act of Parliament
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the law of defamation and to amend the law of limitation with respect to actions for defamation or malicious falsehood.
Citation	1996 c. 31
Territorial extent	England and Wales (in part); Scotland (in part); Northern Ireland (in part);
Dates
Royal assent	4 July 1996
Commencement	various
Amends	Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888; Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940; Defamation Act 1952; Revision of the Army and Air Force Acts (Transitional Provisions) Act 1955; Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955; Civil Evidence Act 1968; Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968; Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971; Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972; Limitation Act 1980; Contempt of Court Act 1981; British Nationality Act 1981; Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985; Administration of Justice Act 1985; Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989; Broadcasting Act 1990;
Other legislation
Amends	Law of Libel Amendment Act 1888; Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940; Defamation Act 1952; Revision of the Army and Air Force Acts (Transitional Provisions) Act 1955; Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955; Civil Evidence Act 1968; Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968; Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971; Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972; Limitation Act 1980; Contempt of Court Act 1981; British Nationality Act 1981; Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985; Administration of Justice Act 1985; Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989; Broadcasting Act 1990;
Amended by	Scotland Act 1998; Local Authorities (Executive and Alternative Arrangements) (Modification of Enactments and Other Provisions) (England) Order 2001; Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Modification of Enactments) (England) Order 2002; Constitutional Reform Act 2005; Government of Wales Act 2006; Coroners and Justice Act 2009; Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010; Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2010; Defamation Act 2013; Deregulation Act 2015; Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021; Defamation Act (Northern Ireland) 2022;
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Defamation Act 1996 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Defamation Act 1996 (c. 31) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Provisions

The act provides an innocent dissemination defence.

The act provides an "offer of amends" procedure to allow a defendant who has simply made an honest mistake or is unable to defend the libel claim to admit liability.

The act was fully implemented in February 2000.

Commencement

The following orders have been made under this section:

The Defamation Act 1996 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1999 (SI 1999/817 (C. 26))
The Defamation Act 1996 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2000 (SI 2000/222 (C. 7))
The Defamation Act 1996 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/98 (C. 3)
The Defamation Act 1996 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2009 (SI 2009/2858 (C. 125))

Notes

1 2 Section 20(1).
↑ Section 18.
↑ Section 19.

References

Claire Sandford and Fiona Boyle. The Defamation Act 1996: The New Law. (Impact Series). Northumbria Law Press. Newcastle. 1997.
"Defamation Act 1996". Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales. Fourth Edition. 2009 Reissue. LexisNexis. Volume 19(3). Page 398. See also Preliminary Note at page 352.
Brian Hepworth. "Defamation Act 1996". Current Law Statutes 1996. Sweet & Maxwell. London. W Green. Edinburgh. 1997. Volume 2: . Chapter 31.
"Defamation Act 1996" (1997) 15 International Media Law 6 WorldCat
Bayfield, "Defamation Act 1996" (1996) 140 Solicitors Journal 866 (13 September 1996)
Braithwaite, "The United Kingdom Defamation Act 1996" (1997) 15 Communications Lawyer 12 HeinOnline Google Books
Williams, "Only Flattery Is Safe: Political Speech and the Defamation Act 1996" (1997) 60 Modern Law Review 388 JSTOR
Sharland and Loveland, "The Defamation Act 1996 and Political Libels" [1997] Public Law 113

↑ "Web of intrigue -- the recent Demon case has put the issue of Internet libel in the headlines, but is it the responsibility of ISPs to avoid defamation on their Web sites?". The Law Society Gazette. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
↑ Melville-Brown, Amber (19 February 2009). "Media law – offers of amends". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
↑ Melville-Brown, Amber (17 February 2000). "Test of character -- a week after the government announced fu ll implementation of the Defamation Act 1996, we look at a series of efforts aimed at updating what has long been seen as an archaic system". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

External links

Text of the Defamation Act 1996 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Text of the Defamation Act 1996 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

[st-1] 1 2 Section 20(1).

[2] Section 18.

[3] Section 19.

[4] "Web of intrigue -- the recent Demon case has put the issue of Internet libel in the headlines, but is it the responsibility of ISPs to avoid defamation on their Web sites?". The Law Society Gazette. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[5] Melville-Brown, Amber (19 February 2009). "Media law – offers of amends". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[6] Melville-Brown, Amber (17 February 2000). "Test of character -- a week after the government announced fu ll implementation of the Defamation Act 1996, we look at a series of efforts aimed at updating what has long been seen as an archaic system". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2026.