How Long Does One Have to Issue Defamation Proceedings?

The limitation period for defamation actions is one year. By section 5(1AAA) of the Defamation Act 2005 ("The Act") proceedings for defamation must be instituted within one year of the date of publication.

Prior to the enactment of the uniform defamation law in 2005, a person could issue defamation proceedings within 6 years. In dealing with the reduction of the limitation period in his second reading speech the Attorney-General referred to empirical research that over 80% of defamation actions were initiated within 6 months of publication and only 8 % more than 12 months from the date of publication.

Pursuant to Section 23B of the Act, a Court must, if satisfied that it was no reasonable in the circumstances for the plaintiff to have commenced an action in relation to the matter complained of within one year from the date of publication, extend the limitation period to a period to three years from the date of publication.

Section 23B of the Act provides as follows:

• "
  1. A person claiming to have a cause of action for defamation may apply to a Court for an order extending the limitation period for the cause of action.
  2. A Court, on an application under sub-section (1), must, if satisfied that it was not reasonable in the circumstances for the plaintiff to have commenced an action in relation to the matter complained of within one year from the date of the publication, extend the limitation period mentioned in section 5(1AAA) to a period of up to three years from the date of the publication.
  3. A Court may not order the extension of the limitation period for a cause of action for defamation other than in the circumstances specified in sub-section (2).
  4. If a Court orders the extension of a period of limitation applicable to a cause of action under this section, that period of limitation is accordingly extended for the purposes of an action brought by the applicant in that Court on the cause of action that the applicant claims to have.
  5. An order for the extension of a limitation period, and an application for such an order, may be made under this section even thought the limitation period has already expired."
  (emphasis added)

The Court may assess a number of factors upon an application for extension of the limitation period including matters such as THE length of (and reasons for) the delay on the part of the Plaintiff. In the United Kingdom, the Courts' require the applicant to demonstrate a good reason for the delay: see Steedman v BBC [2002] E.M.L.R 17 at [29(3)], [34] and [43]. The Court recognised in the case of Steedman that applications for extensions in defamation proceedings warrant unique consideration. Steele J considered that "claims to protect one's reputation ought to be pursued with vigour, especially in view of the ephemeral nature of most media publications." (at [20]). Hale LJ considered that, as vindication could only be obtained by swift remedial action, the one year limitation period was appropriate (at [32]).

In summary, a person pursuing a defamation claim should act promptly in order to vindicate his or her reputation. However, in the event that one is able to satisfy the Court that it was not reasonable to bring proceedings within one year from the date of the publication complained of, the Court must extend the limitation period.