Berkoff v Burchill - Lawsuit against Journalist for Insulting Famous Director Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The appellants of the case Berkoff v Burchill relied on the arguments that the definition of tort of defamation is hinge on the idea that injury was caused to the reputation of the appellee. The fact that a statement may injure feelings or cause annoyance is irrelevant to the question whether it is defamatory and must, therefore, be considered as immaterial to the case. The counsel for the defendants relied on the words of Lord Atkins in the case of Sim v. Stretch [1936] 2 All ER 1237 at 1242 where it was stated that even though, as a matter of duty to safeguard liberty, the juries have the freedom to award damages for injury to reputation, such duty is undermined when exhibitions of bad manners or discourtesy are placed on the same level as attacks on character, and are treated as actionable wrongs. The counsel for the appellants illustrated that an allegation that a person is suffering from certain types of diseases can be considered as defamatory because this could cause some aversive reactions from people around him. However, he argued that a distinction must be made between the statements that somebody is physically unwholesome and an allegation that the person is physically aesthetically unpleasing. The counsel for the appellant argued that the shunned or avoided test couldn t be applied without qualification. We will write a custom essay sample on Berkoff v Burchill - Lawsuit against Journalist for Insulting Famous Director or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page