Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026

PART 5

Amendment of Part 3 of Principal Act

Amendment of section 17 of Principal Act

7. (1) Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (i):

“(i) a fair and accurate report of proceedings publicly heard before, or a decision made public by, any court (including a court-martial)—

(i) established by law in the State,

(ii) established under the law of Northern Ireland, or

(iii) established under the law of any other state or place,”,

and

(b) by the renumbering of subsection (4) (inserted by section 38 (b) of the Parole Act 2019 ) as subsection (5).

(2) The amendment effected by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.