

Defamation: Preliminary Hearings
The coming into force of the Defamation Act 2013 and with it the abolition of the presumption of trial by jury, has had the effect of giving judges greater scope to achieve early resolution. Previously some issues could not have been decided until it was known whether the trial would take place before a jury. One such issue was determining the “natural and ordinary” meaning of the words complained of. However, the new legislation allows judges to make this ruling at an ear