Libel Law, Political Criticism, and Defamation of Public Figures: The United States, Europe, and Australia

Amponsah studies political defamation laws in the United States, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Prevailing jurisprudence of each area weighs political speech against reputation through a preferred balancing approach which gives more protection to political speech. While the different jurisdictions place greater interest in political speech than individual reputation in matters of public concern and governance, all used multiple rationales such as the marketplace of ideas, self-fulfillment, search for truth, and democratic self-government principles to justify protection of political speech. Democratic jurisdictions give heightened protection for political speech by assimilating into their libel laws values embodied in multiple rationales for protecting political speech.