LCR4805 Assignment 1 Semester 2 2025 (Answer Guide) - Due 12 August 2025

LCR4805 Assignment 1 Semester 2 2025 (Answer Guide) - Due 12 August 2025 Question 1 a) Liability of Mary to a Claim of Defamation (10 Marks) In South African law, defamation is defined as the wrongful, intentional publication of a defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff, which tends to lower the plaintiff’s reputation in the eyes of the community (Neethling et al., 2015). For John to succeed in a claim of defamation against Mary, he must prove the following elements: 1. The Statement Was Defamatory A statement is defamatory if it has the effect of injuring a person’s reputation, exposing them to hatred, contempt, or ridicule (Burchell, 2005). In this case, Mary accused John publicly on Facebook of being a "thief" and a "fraudster", which are serious allegations of criminal conduct. Such statements are inherently defamatory as they impute dishonesty and criminal behaviour, damaging John’s personal and professional reputation. 2. The Statement Refers to the Plaintiff It is clear that Mary specifically named John in her Facebook post, directly linking the defamatory content to him. There is no ambiguity that the statement refers to him, satisfying this requirement