All major objections to the widely criticised press defamation bill were removed in a revised version submitted today to Israel’s Parliament.
Originally placed before the Knesset in February 1962, the bill evoked sharp criticism. It was withdrawn by the Cabinet which referred it to a Ministerial Law Committee. The amended measure eliminates as punishable libels committed in overseas publications written by correspondents stationed in Israel. It also has dropped a clause which would have authorised Israeli courts to ban publication of Judgments in defamation cases.
The new version also provides that accurate reporting of public proceedings constitutes a good defense even if defamatory, a situation hitherto subject to prosecution. Also eliminated were provisions that the printer of a newspaper is liable for defamatory articles and that courts may shut down newspapers guilty of libel.
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