Libel judgments confirmed on appeal

The Court of Appeal, presided by Mr Justice Philip Sciberras has confirmed two libel judgments in terms of which Joseph R. Darmanin was awarded a total of Lm1,300 in damages.

Plaintiff had filed two writs in the Magistrates Court. One writ was filed against Gino Cauchi and Maria Muscat, on behalf of Super One TV, and the other was filed against Felix Agius as editor of the newspaper KullHadd.

Darmanin claimed that he had been libelled by an item carried in a news bulletin on March 3, 2002 on Super One TV and by two articles entitled Ta' Vienna favoriti li jiehdu l-Ajruport and Konferma, published in KullHadd.

The magistrates court had upheld plaintiff's writs and had condemned Cauchi and Muscat to pay Lm600 and Lm100 respectively in libel damages.

Agius was ordered by the magistrates court to pay Darmanin Lm600 in libel damages.

Mr Justice Philip Sciberras, presiding over the court of appeal dismissed the appeals lodged by defendants in the libel suits.

The appellate court noted that it was established jurisprudence that when a defendant pleaded fair comment to a libel suit, then it was up to the defendant to prove the facts that were commented upon.

In these cases, defendants had failed to produce such evidence.

Both appeals were dismissed and the judgments of the magistrates courts were confirmed.