This article does bring up the question of how many other laws in Jamaica were originally enacted during colonial times?
Jamaica press association applauds Parliament’s approval of overhaul for island’s libel law
By Associated Press,
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s press association on Wednesday applauded an overhaul of the Caribbean country’s libel and slander law, which had been based on a 17th century law from Britain.Media organizations in the former British colony complained for years that the difficulty and cost of fighting lawsuits, along with the risk of punishing judgments, stifled the press and freedom of expression. Some said they squashed potentially contentious stories over the years because of the risk of being sued.
But after years of debate, both houses of Parliament have passed legislation amending a libel and slander law authorized by the island in 1851 and a defamation act passed in 1961. Attorney General Patrick Atkinson said in a Wednesday statement that the distinction between libel and slander will soon be abolished once the bill is signed into law.
The Press Association of Jamaica said amendments include the removal of a provision under which people could be charged with criminal libel for making “outrageous” comments. The change also adds a “wire service defense” that says local media organizations can use reports from reputable sources without first checking for accuracy.
Jamaican judges, not juries, will now determine damages for media organizations found guilty of publishing defamatory information. The press association said this “will result in more reasonable fines which will not threaten the existence of media houses.”
Juries sometimes awarded hefty damages under the old libel statute. In one high-profile case, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper was ordered to pay $1 million to a former tourism minister and radio host for publishing a story in 1987 that said he might have accepted a bribe. On appeal, the judgment was reduced to about $400,000 — still a big sum in Jamaica.
Authorization of the new defamation act comes six years after a government-formed committee submitted a report that outlined various options for modernizing the law.
“This is an important step in increasing freedom of expression and by extension press freedom in Jamaica,” said Jenni Campbell, president of the press association and managing editor of the Gleaner, the Caribbean’s oldest daily still in print.
The press association will keep pushing for a change to make it harder for public figures to claim defamation. Campbell said that would boost the ability of reporters to bring public corruption to light.
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