* Rolph on Defamation 2nd ed

Australia Title

"Defamation Law is an outstanding work…as useful to the solicitor ... as it will be to counsel conducting a defamation trial or an appeal (and) to the appellate judge determining how a principle…should be applied to a novel situation. And it will be required reading for any reformer … (It) combines the practical, theoretical,  and historical (with) incisive insights…Dr Rolph (provides) an accessible but rigorous exposition of defamation law thereby demystifying this complex cause of action." - The Hon M H McHugh AC QC, Justice of the High Court of Australia (1989-2005) on the First Edition, (2016) 90 ALJ 756.

Rolph On Defamation Second Edition provides a comprehensive, up-to-date account of Australian defamation law. This work provides both a practical resource and an explanation of the historical background and current sources of Australian defamation law. 

Cited by the High Court of Australia in its first edition, this work has already been recognised as a defining yet highly accessible voice on this specialised field of law, since its initial release in 2015.

David Rolph analyses the competing interests underlying defamation – the protection of reputation and freedom of expression – and considers in detail the requirements of the plaintiff’s case for defamation, the range of available defences and the remedies which may be awarded.

As well as focusing on the tort of defamation, this work examines criminal defamation and civil causes of action which may overlap with it.

Critically for both practitioners and students, this work explores a range of practical questions relating to concerns notices, offers of amends, capacity arguments, directions for juries, particulars, interlocutory applications particular to defamation, damages and injunctions.

New developments in the Second Edition include:

• The implications of the High Court of Australia's decisions in Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller and Google LLC v Defteros;
• The introduction of serious harm to reputation as a new element of the cause of action;
• The reformulated defence of contextual truth;
• The introduction of the new public interest defence;
• The reformulation cap on damages for non-economic loss; and
• The Federal Court's jurisdiction over pure defamation claims.

Rolph On Defamation Second Edition strikes the necessary balance between essential practical guidance, rigorous doctrinal analysis and the historical context of the law, providing both practitioners and students of defamation law with the ideal text on the subject.