W
"Legal head" and first time poster here
![Geek :geek: :geek:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Laugh :LOL: :LOL:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
so in 2009 libel was abolished, it's just defamation now, and we actually don't have strict defamation laws at all
![Oops! :oops: :oops:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
quite the opposite, especially where the person who claims to have been defamed is a "public figure" such as either L or J. But anyway there are 8 defences to defamation in Ireland, one being where the alleged defamatory statement is the truth (because a statement can only be defamatory if it's a lie), and another being where the alleged defamatory statement was the honest opinion of the person who allegedly made it.
So basically it's really hard to prove defamation in general, but even more difficult where the person who claims to have been defamed is some sort of public figure, and then on top of that the defence of "honest opinion" is pretty much a catch-all so if L or J wanted to come out and tell us everything they definitely could - even if they couldn't really prove that what they say is true, they can rely on it being their honest opinion of what happened between the two.