Seditious libel

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Sedition and seditious libel were[1] criminal offences under English common law, and are still criminal offences in Canada.[2] Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel. Libel denotes a printed form of communication such as writing or drawing.[3]

A statement is seditious if it "brings into hatred or contempt" either the Queen or her heirs, the government and constitution, either House of Parliament, the administration of justice, if it incites people to attempt to change any matter of Church or state established by law (except by lawful means), or if it promotes discontent among or hostility between British subjects. A person is only guilty of the offence if they have printed words or images and intend any of the above outcomes. Proving that the statement is true is not a defence.

The common law offence was punishable in the UK with life imprisonment, and seems[original research?] to have been replaced by the Terrorism Act 2000,[4] where the act proscribes "threat of action... designed... to intimidate the public or a section of the public".

In Canada as of 2014, violation of section 59 of the Criminal Code attracted a maximum term in prison of 14 years, and the broader sedition was defined in part as follows:

59(4) Without limiting the generality of the meaning of the expression “seditious intention”, every one shall be presumed to have a seditious intention who

(a) teaches or advocates, or

(b) publishes or circulates any writing that advocates,

the use, without the authority of law, of force as a means of accomplishing a governmental change within Canada.

so that the simple communication of seditious intent would in theory be sufficient grounds on which to convict.

The American scholar, Leonard W. Levy, argues that seditious libel "has always been an accordion-like concept, expandable or contractible at the whim of judges."[5]

History

The crime of seditious libel was defined and established in England during the 1606 case "De Libellis Famosis" by the Star Chamber.[6] The case defined seditious libel as criticism of public persons, the government, or King.

The phrase "seditious libel" and "blasphemous libel" were used interchangeably at that time, because of the strong unions between church and state. Blasphemy was later made a separate offence, and finally abolished with the passing of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. Sedition and seditious libel were abolished by section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.[1] Sedition by an alien is still an offence under section 3 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919.[7]

The United States of America's Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 broke with the common law precedent of the time, in that it allowed for truth as a defense, though judges were not consistent in their rulings.

John Peter Zenger was arrested and imprisoned for seditious libel in 1734 after his newspaper criticized the colonial governor of New York. Zenger spent nearly 10 months in jail before being acquitted by a jury in August 1735.[8] One hundred years later, Nova Scotia's Joseph Howe also won a jury acquittal on a charge of seditious libel after his newspaper printed allegations that local politicians and police were stealing from the people.[9]

Having severely censured the actions of the government in print with reference to the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, Sir Francis Burdett was prosecuted at Leicester assizes, fined £1,000, and committed to prison by Best, J. for three months for the crime of "composing, writing, and publishing a seditious libel" with explanation:

"My opinion of the liberty of the press is that every man ought to be permitted to instruct his fellow subjects; that every man may fearlessly advance any new doctrines, provided he does so with proper respect to the religion and government of the country; that he may point out errors in the measures of public men; but he must not impute criminal conduct to them. The liberty of the press cannot be carried to this extent without violating another equally sacred right; namely, the right of character. This right can only be attacked in a court of justice, where the party attacked has a fair opportunity of defending himself."[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 section 73, Coroners and Justice Act 2009
  2. ↑ Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, ss 59-61.
  3. ↑ L.L. Edwards, J.S. Edwards, P.K. Wells, Tort Law for Legal Assistants, Cengage Learning, 2008, p. 390. "Libel refers to written defamatory statements; slander refers to oral statements. Libel encompasses communications occurring in 'physical form'... defamatory statements on records and computer tapes are considered libel..."
  4. ↑ "Islam4UK Islamist group banned under terror laws" 12 Jan 2010 bbc.co.uk
  5. ↑ Levy, Leonard W. (1985) Emergence of a Free Press. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.8.
  6. ↑ http://www.abanet.org/publiced/youth/sia/culture/courts.html
  7. ↑ section 3, Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919
  8. ↑ Levy, pp.38-45.
  9. ↑ Kesterton, W.H. (1967) A History of Journalism in Canada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, pp.21-23.
  10. ↑ Sources of English Constitutional History, Stephenson & Marcham
  11. ↑ Reports of State Trials, New Series, I, 49, 118 f.
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