Odger's English Common Law

180 ACTS CALCULATED TO PBOVOKE A BREACH OP THE VEACE.
not to exceed one year, without hard labour. This section
does not create any new offence, or attempt to define any
existing offence; it merely fixes the punishment to be
awarded for the existing common law misdemeanour of
maliciously publishing a libel. 1
By section 1 of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention
Act, 1895, 2 any person who, before or during any parlia-
mentary election, shall, for the purpose of affecting the return
of any candidate at such election, make or publish any false
statement of fact in relation to the personal character or
conduct of such candidate, shall be guilty of an illegal
practice within the meaning of the Corrupt and Illegal
Practices Prevention Act, 1883, 3 and shall be liable, on
summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £100, and will
be incapable of voting at any election in the same constituency
for five years. But by section 2 " no person shall be deemed
to be guilty of such illegal practice if he can show that he
had reasonable grounds for believing, and did believe, the
statement made by him to be true." Similar provisions are
contained in the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal
Practices) Acts, 1884 and 1911. 4
By section 8 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act, 1888, 6 no criminal
prosecution can be commenced against any proprietor, publisher, editor or
any person responsible for the publication of a newspaper for aDy libel
published therein without the order of a judge at chambers being first had
and obtained. Such application must be made on notice to the person
accused, who must have an opportunity of being heard against it. No
order will be made under this section where a civil action will meet the
requirements of the case, even though the libel be a serious one. No
appeal can be brought from the decision of a judge at chambers under this
section. 6 But note that this Section affords no protection to the writer of
the libel, although he may be a regular reporter or article writer on the
staff of a newspaper.
There are other publications which are criminal libels. We have already
» B. v. Munslow, [1895] 1 Q. B. 758.
» 58 & 69 Vict. o. 40.
8 46 & 47 Vict. c. 61.
* 47 & 48 Vict. c. 70 ; 1 & 2 Geo. V. c. 7.
6 51 & 52 Vict. c. 64. And see ss. 4 and 6 of the Newspaper Libel Act, 1881
(44 & 45 Vict. c. 60).
• Ex parte Pulbrook, [1892] 1 Q. B. 86 ; and
(5th ed.), pp. 714, 715.
see Odgers, Libel and Slander