Prior to the civil suits filed by The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Kalimullah bin Masheerul Hassan, Hishamuddin bin Aun and Brenden John a/l John Pereira against Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin Atan (Rocky's Bru) for defamation, Malaysian bloggers generally threw caution to the wind and did not consider the issue of defamation whilst posting in their blogs. Following the filing of the case (the case of which is still pending disposal in Court), many parties have given their views on the freedom of expression and guarding against defamatory remarks through cyberspace.
There is no doubt that the cyberspace provides an interesting debate on issues of publication of alleged defamatory remarks, jurisdiction of Courts as well as whether there actually is total freedom of expression in this Court. It is thus to the benefit of the Malaysian public that the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee has been able to secure the agreement of Dr. Venkat Iyer, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, University of Ulster to give a half-day seminar on Defamation in Cyberspace.
The distinguished Dr. Venkat Iyer comes with impressive credentials. He has previously worked in the Legal Office of Amnesty International in London and has carried out special projects for a number of international NGOs. A Barrister by training, Dr. Iyer's research interests encompasses the areas of constitutional law, media law and human rights.
The seminar will be held on the 14th July, 2007 and full details with registration form is available here. This seminar is open to the public and bloggers are encouraged to attend. It would be interesting to get a legal perspective from the eminent Dr. Iyer on what he defines by defamation in cyberspace.
There is no doubt that the cyberspace provides an interesting debate on issues of publication of alleged defamatory remarks, jurisdiction of Courts as well as whether there actually is total freedom of expression in this Court. It is thus to the benefit of the Malaysian public that the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee has been able to secure the agreement of Dr. Venkat Iyer, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, University of Ulster to give a half-day seminar on Defamation in Cyberspace.
The distinguished Dr. Venkat Iyer comes with impressive credentials. He has previously worked in the Legal Office of Amnesty International in London and has carried out special projects for a number of international NGOs. A Barrister by training, Dr. Iyer's research interests encompasses the areas of constitutional law, media law and human rights.
The seminar will be held on the 14th July, 2007 and full details with registration form is available here. This seminar is open to the public and bloggers are encouraged to attend. It would be interesting to get a legal perspective from the eminent Dr. Iyer on what he defines by defamation in cyberspace.
