Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2006 (ACT)

The case involves the Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2006 (ACT) and its implications for defamation law. The primary issue before the court was whether certain corporations, including those formed for purposes other than financial gain and those employing fewer than ten people, have a cause of action for defamation. Another issue was the applicability of the Act to deceased persons and the choice of law for defamation proceedings across different Australian jurisdictions.

The court addressed the first issue by interpreting the Act to limit the cause of action for defamation to certain corporations. It held that a corporation can only sue for defamation if it was an excluded corporation at the time of the publication. An excluded corporation is defined as one that does not aim to obtain financial gain for its members or employees and either is not related to another corporation or employs fewer than ten people. The court emphasised that this limitation does not affect any defamation claims that individuals associated with the corporation may have. Regarding deceased persons, the court found that neither living nor deceased persons can assert a cause of action for defamation about deceased individuals. The court also ruled on the choice of law for defamation proceedings, stating that the applicable law depends on where the publication occurred and where the harm was sustained, with a focus on the location of the plaintiff or the corporation's principal place of business at the time of publication.