No provisions.

Criminal defamation was abolished in Antigua and Barbuda in 2015 by the Defamation Act 2015.

However, see under “Other Relevant Criminal Offences” for information on certain cyber offences that bear similarity to defamation.

Provisions on the books.

Seditious libel is a criminal offence in Antigua and Barbuda under the Antigua and Barbuda Sedition and Undesirable Publications Act.

According to the Act, any person who:

•  commits or prepares to commit an act with a seditious intention;
•  utters any seditious words;
•  prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or
•  knowingly imports a seditious publication

faces, upon first offence, imprisonment for up to two years with or without hard labour and/or a fine of $5,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment for up to three years with or without hard labor.

Seditious intention is defined in the Act as an intention:

i. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the person of Her Majesty, Her heirs or successors, or the Government as by law established; or
ii. to excite Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda to attempt to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any other matter in Antigua and Barbuda as by law established; or
iii. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Antigua and Barbuda; or
iv. to raise discontent or disaffection amongst Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda; or
v. to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population of Antigua and Barbuda.

The possession of seditious publications is punishable, upon first offence, with imprisonment for up to one year of a fine of $3,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment with or without hard labour for up to two years.

Provisions on the books.

Seditious libel is a criminal offence in Antigua and Barbuda under the Antigua and Barbuda Sedition and Undesirable Publications Act.

According to the Act, any person who:

•  commits or prepares to commit an act with a seditious intention;
•  utters any seditious words;
•  prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or
•  knowingly imports a seditious publication

faces, upon first offence, imprisonment for up to two years with or without hard labour and/or a fine of $5,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment for up to three years with or without hard labor.

Seditious intention is defined in the Act as an intention:

i. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the person of Her Majesty, Her heirs or successors, or the Government as by law established; or
ii. to excite Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda to attempt to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any other matter in Antigua and Barbuda as by law established; or
iii. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Antigua and Barbuda; or
iv. to raise discontent or disaffection amongst Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda; or
v. to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population of Antigua and Barbuda.

The possession of seditious publications is punishable, upon first offence, with imprisonment for up to one year of a fine of $3,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment with or without hard labour for up to two years.

Provisions on the books.

Seditious libel is a criminal offence in Antigua and Barbuda under the Antigua and Barbuda Sedition and Undesirable Publications Act.

According to the Act, any person who:

•  commits or prepares to commit an act with a seditious intention;
•  utters any seditious words;
•  prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or
•  knowingly imports a seditious publication

faces, upon first offence, imprisonment for up to two years with or without hard labour and/or a fine of $5,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment for up to three years with or without hard labor.

Seditious intention is defined in the Act as an intention:

i. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the person of Her Majesty, Her heirs or successors, or the Government as by law established; or
ii. to excite Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda to attempt to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any other matter in Antigua and Barbuda as by law established; or
iii. to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Antigua and Barbuda; or
iv. to raise discontent or disaffection amongst Her Majesty’s subjects or inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda; or
v. to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of the population of Antigua and Barbuda.

The possession of seditious publications is punishable, upon first offence, with imprisonment for up to one year of a fine of $3,000. Subsequent offenders face imprisonment with or without hard labour for up to two years.

No provisions.

No provisions.

No provisions.

Offensive messages through online communication services

Art. 4 of the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 prohibits sending by means of an electronic system:

• information that is offensive or threatening
• information which is false, causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, enmity, hatred or ill-will
• electronic mail or an electronic message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience, or to deceive or mislead the recipient as to the origin of such message.

The punishment is, upon summary conviction, imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of $200,000; or, upon conviction on indictment, up to seven years in prison or a fine up to $500,000.

Civil defamation is regulated under the Defamation Act 2015. The Act states that its three principle objectives are to provide effective and fair remedies for defamed persons; promote speedy and non-litigious methods of resolving defamation disputes; and ensure that the law on defamation “does not place unreasonable limits on freedom of expression”.

The Act abolishes the distinction between slander and libel and relates to the tort of defamation. “Defamatory matter” is defined as “matter published by a person that is, [sic] injurious to another person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society”.

Damages

The Act does not cap compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

It requires damages to bear a rational relationship to the harm sustained by the plaintiff.

Defences

Truth: Truth is an absolute defence (Art. 20). The burden of proof falls on the defendant.

Reasonable publication: It is a defence if the defendant proves that the statement complained of was a comment on a matter of public interest and the defendant reasonably believed that the statement complained of was in the public interest (Art. 22).

Fair comment: Established by the Act (Art. 21).

Privilege: A defence of absolute privilege (Art. 24) applies to matters published by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, court judgments, conference proceedings, et. al. A defence of qualified privilege (Art. 25) applies to fair and accurate proceedings or documentation of various international bodies and courts.

Other: The Act provides a defence of innocent publication (Art. 23). Operators of websites are protected so long as it was not the operator who posted the defamatory statement unless it is not possible for the plaintiff to identify the person who posted the statement or the operator acted with malice, among other things (Art. 26).

In 2015 Antigua and Barbuda adopted the Defamation Act 2015. The new law replaced the Libel and Slander Act (Antigua and Barbuda), which dated to 1876 and was based on the British Libel act (Lord Campbell’s Act) of 1843.

The adoption of the Defamation Act 2015 followed a mission to Antigua and Barbuda by IPI and the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers in April 2013 during which representatives of the country’s two major political parties pledged to undertake reform.

Among the changes introduced by the Defamation Act 2015 were:

• Abolition of criminal libel.
• Abolition of the distinction between slander and libel and establishing reference to the tort of defamation.
• Abolition of archaic provisions such as the “slander of women”.
• Introduction of a single publication rule.
• Establishment in statutory law of defences to defamation claims, including truth, innocent publication, public interest, fair comment and absolute and qualified privilege.
• Establishment in statutory law of modern provisions on procedure and remedies, including a requirement that damages must bear a rational relationship to harm caused.

The information contained in this database is for informational and advocacy purposes only. If you are a journalist facing a defamation claim, you should seek legal advice from a qualified attorney. However, if you are unable to find such an attorney, IPI may be able to assist you in doing so. Please contact us at ipi[at]freemedia.at.

Information on Antigua and Barbuda was last updated in September 2015.