C9

Prospective affecting provision: section inserted by Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (2/2026), s. 19, not commenced as of date of revision.

F34[34E.— (1) Where a defendant in defamation proceedings relating to his or her engagement in public participation makes an application to the court, in accordance with law, to strike out the claim as being manifestly unfounded—

(a) the court shall, in determining the application, and

(b) where an appeal is brought against the determination of the application, the court that hears and determines the appeal shall,act as expeditiously as possible consistent with the administration of justice.

(2) In this section, "manifestly unfounded", in relation to a claim, includes where—

(a) the indorsement or pleading—

(i) is unnecessary,

(ii) is an abuse of the process of the court, or

(iii) in the case of an interim or interlocutory application, may unreasonably prejudice or delay the fair trial of the action,

(b) the claim—

(i) discloses no reasonable cause of action,

(ii) amounts to an abuse of the process of the court,

(iii) is bound to fail, or

(iv) has no reasonable chance of succeeding,

or

(c) the statement in respect of which the proceedings have been brought is not reasonably capable of being found to have a defamatory meaning in accordance with section 34(2).]