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Legal Terms – Honest Opinion
A statutory defence in defamation law, replacing the former defence of fair comment under the Defamation Act 2013. To rely on this defence, the defendant must prove that:
- The impugned statement was an expression of opinion rather than a statement of fact;
- The statement indicated the basis or reasoning for the opinion; and
- The opinion could have been honestly held by a reasonable person based on the circumstances.
The defence fails if the claimant proves that the defendant did not genuinely hold the opinion expressed.
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