TERMS OF REFERENCE
On 4 November 1992, the Attorney General, the Hon John P Hannaford MLC, required the Commission to inquire into and report on the law of defamation in New South Wales, with particular reference to:
(a) the relative roles of the judge and jury;
(b) standards, defences, onus and procedures;
(c) the determination of damages;
(d) non-monetary remedies, including court-ordered correction statements;
(e) alternative or additional techniques of dispute resolution;
(f) the need for the provision of a separate tort of invasion of privacy;
(g) the need for the provision of "shield laws" to protect journalist's sources; and
(h) any related matters.
The Commission should provide drafting instructions for amendment of the Bill and, in doing so, take into consideration such empirical data relating to defamation matters as may be available and to have particular regard to the proposals of the Standing Committee of Attorneys General for uniformity of defamation laws in Australia and the Discussion Paper and Report of the Legislation Committee on the Defamation Bill 1992.
PARTICIPANTS
The Law Reform Commission is constituted by the Law Reform Commission Act 1967. For the purpose of this reference, the Chairman, in accordance with the Act, created a Division comprising the following members of the Commission:
The Hon R M Hope AC CMG QC (until 2 April 1993)
The Hon G J Samuels AC QC (from 3 April 1993)
Professor Michael Chesterman
The Hon Mr Justice J Cripps
The Hon Mr Justice D Hunt
Professor David Weisbrot
Officers of the Commission
Executive Director
Research and Writing
Mr Benedict Reichel
Ms Fiona Manning
Librarian
Desktop Publishing
Ms Julie Freeman
Ms Suzanna Mishhawi
Cover Design
Administrative Assistance
SUBMISSIONS
The Commission invites submissions on issues relevant to this review, including but not limited to the issues raised in this Discussion Paper. Submissions and comments must reach the Commission by 29 October 1993. All submissions and inquiries should be directed to:
[Current contact details for the Law Reform Commission]
There is no special form required for submissions. If it is inconvenient or impractical to make a written submission you may telephone the Commission and either direct your comments to a Legal Officer over the telephone, or else arrange to make your submission in person.
If you would like your submission to be treated as confidential, please indicate this in your submission.
Who can make a submission?
Submissions are welcome from individuals and organisations. If you have a particular interest in the law of defamation, the Commission would like to hear from you. Legal or other special qualifications are not necessary.
Contents of a submission
The Commission is interested in any comments on how the law is operating or how it might be improved. You may wish to address some or all of the issues raised in this Discussion Paper and/or discuss other related issues that have not been raised but which you consider relevant. It is not necessary that the submission make specific recommendations for reform. Nor is it necessary for all submissions to be written specifically for this review. The Commission is also glad to receive copies of submissions to other bodies inquiring into defamation and related matters.
Comments on any aspect of the law, its operation and its impact will be given careful consideration.
Use of submissions and confidentiality
Submissions made to the Commission may be used in two ways:
- Since the Commission’s process of law reform is essentially public, copies of submissions made to the Commission will normally be made available on request to any person or organisation. However, if you would like all, or part, of your submission to be treated as confidential, please indicate this in your submission. Any request for a copy of a submission marked “confidential” will be determined in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (NSW).
- In preparing the final Report, the Commission may also find it useful to refer to and make mention of comments submitted in response to this Discussion Paper. However, if a request for confidentiality is made, it will be respected by the Commission in relation to the publication of such submissions in a Report.
