Protecting the reputation of the council

Athelstane Aamodt considers attempts by local authorities to protect their reputation and analyses a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling

This case refers to UK legislation but is very useful to understand the situation all over Europe.

Local authorities cannot sue in defamation. This was not always the case however. There are in fact two reported incidences of local authorities prior to 1993 (when the law changed) suing in this fashion.

The article appeared in LocalGovernmentLawyer in 2015.

Tags: SLAPP Freedom of expression Legal protection United Kingdom

Publication Date: 26/08/2015

Link: https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/governance/314-governance-a-risk-articles/26702-protecting-the-reputation-of-the-council