The relevant sector of a plaintiff's reputation for the purposes of mitigation of damages in defamation is determined by reference to that part of the plaintiff's reputation capable of being harmed by the defamatory material, not by reference to broad occupational categories. The Evidence Act 1995 ss 55-56 do not alter this common law rule. A defendant may plead facts in mitigation of damages that might otherwise have been ingredients of a defence of justification, even without pleading justification. The question whether post-publication matters may be relied upon in mitigation was left open but the Court signalled an inclination to permit such reliance.
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