Libel or slander

Defamation was the publication of a statement which reflected on a person's reputation and tended to lower him/her in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally or tended to make them shun or avoid him/her

Defamation ordinarily took the form of two separate torts i.e. libel and slander

Libel was actionable per se and injury to reputation would be presumed

Three elements which must exist to prove element of libel or slander were that imputation must be defamatory; that it must identify or refer to the claimant and that it must be published/communicated to at least one person other than the claimant.