Lindley LJ suggested that a moral or social duty meant ‘a duty recognised by English people of ordinary intelligence and moral principle, but at the same time not a duty enforceable by legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal’.
The defendant’s belief that he had an interest or duty in making the statement or communicating the information is irrelevant to the question whether the occasion is privileged.
Judges:
Lindley LJ
Citations:
[1891] 2 QB 341, (1891) 7 TLR 502
Cited by:
Cited – Clift v Slough Borough Council and Another QBD 6-Jul-2009
The claimant sought damages for defamation. The council had decided that she had threatened a member of staff and notified various people, and entered her name on a violent persons register. She alleged malice, the council pleaded justification and . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.347446