Libel

It was settled law that in libel, the single meaning rule applied. When determining the question of meaning: (i) the governing principle was reasonableness; (ii) the hypothetical reasonable reader was not naive, but he was not unduly suspicious; (iii) over-elaborate analysis was best avoided; (iv) the intention of the publisher was irrelevant; (v) the article had to be read as a whole, and any bane and antidote taken together; and (vi) the hypothetical reader was taken to be representative of those who would read the publication in question. Further, if a claimant attributed to words complained of in a libel action a meaning that a claimant was guilty of a crime, but without identifying a specific offence known to the law, that pleaded meaning was not defective.