Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002

The judicial officer in defamation proceedings—

is to determine whether a defendant has a digital intermediary exemption; and

is to determine whether a digital intermediary exemption is established as soon as practicable before the trial for the proceedings commences unless satisfied that there are good reasons to postpone the determination to a later stage of the proceedings; and

may make any orders the judicial officer considers appropriate concerning the determination of the issue, including dismissing the proceedings if satisfied the digital intermediary exemption is established.

Without limiting subsection (1)—

the following matters are relevant in deciding whether there are good reasons to postpone the determination of whether a digital intermediary exemption is established to a later stage of the proceedings:

the cost implications for the parties;

the resources available to the court at the time;

the extent to which technical or scientific issues are raised in the proceedings;

the extent to which establishing the digital intermediary exemption is linked to other issues for determination during the trial for the proceedings; and

the judicial officer may determine a digital intermediary exemption is established on the pleadings without the need for further evidence if satisfied that the pleaded particulars are sufficient to establish the exemption.

Nothing in this section limits the powers that a judicial officer may have apart from this section to dismiss defamation proceedings, whether before or after the trial for the proceedings commences.

In this section: