Comparative Defamation and Privacy Law - Irish Perspectives

Abstract

This piece is a review article of Andrew T Kenyon (ed) Comparative Defamation and Privacy Law (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

In the Preamble to Bunreacht na hÉireann (the Irish Constitution), the People declare that they adopted the Constitution in 1937 so that “that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured”. The Supreme Court has regularly drawn on this rubric to give content to the fundamental rights protected by that document. The rights to freedom of expression, good name, and privacy are crucial to the dignity and freedom of the individual; this important book explores these rights in a wide variety of contexts across a broad range of jurisdictions and its conclusions could guide the development of many aspects of the law in Ireland and throughout the common law world.

This book is a collection of first class, thought-provoking essays. They will repay careful study by practitioners and academics alike. And they will be of immense comparative value for the bar, the bench, and the academy. In particular, in Ireland, in helping to tease through the challenges of balancing or reconciling the rights to privacy, reputation or good name, and freedom of expression, these essays will help to ensure “that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured”, and the great promise of the Preamble to Bunreacht na hÉireann will be kept.

Keywords: Defamation, privacy, freedom of expression

JEL Classification: K13